Earth Equity News

Under Pressure to Block Oil, Army Corps Authorizes Dubious, Drastic Measure. By Bob Young, YaleEnvriro360, June 3, 2010. “In response to the widening disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, government officials have approved a plan to intercept the oil by building a 45-mile sand berm. But scientists fear the project is a costly boondoggle that will inflict further environmental damage and do little to keep oil off the coast... Under pressure from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and other state and local officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued an emergency permit on May 27 authorizing the state of Louisiana to construct 45 miles of artificial berm -- 300 feet wide at its base and rising six feet out of the gulf -- in an attempt to protect delta wetlands and barrier islands from the encroaching oil... Since the Louisiana berm will not be continuous, there is a strong likelihood that oil will flow in through the gaps, then possibly become trapped in wetlands... EPA questioned whether a project that will take at least 6 to 9 months to build would be completed in time to have any impact on the spill...

“Coastal dredging and filling can cause significant damage to marine organisms and local ecosystems as massive amounts of sand are dug up in one location and then deposited on the sea floor in another spot. In addition, building a 45-mile sand berm could alter tidal currents and lead to the erosion of natural barrier islands that protect the Louisiana coast from hurricanes... Thad Allen, the U.S. Coast Guard admiral in charge of the spill cleanup, said on June 2 that BP has agreed to pay for construction of the 45-mile line of sand berms, which he estimated would cost $360 million... have yet to speak to a scientist who thinks that the project will be effective.”