the New Orleans area. The Grand Isle part of this management area is the only major Gulf shore development in the state. The area is steeped in historic lore and abounds in prehistoric Indian village sites. As a part of the Mississippi deltaic plain, one of the largest delta systems in the world, it is an important and unique natural wonder. The vast areas of shallow lakes and bays, extensive marshes and swamps, oak covered natural levee ridges and sandy gulf barriers, and the abundance of migratory waterfowl and indigenous birds, animals and marine life give the region a unique character and present great opportunities for recreation. Sports fishing and hunting are well known, and the beauty of this area's sinuous waterways and picturesque fishing villages provide other attractions. IV. OTHER ENVIRONMENTAI. CONSIDERATIONS Final selection of the site must be based on a comprehensive inventory of existing environmental data. The inventory should be the basis for evaluation of stresses imposed on the environment by construction, operation, and future development of the Superport. It is also required for assessing constraints imposed by foundation conditions, storm vulnerability, waves, currents, fog. The site selected should have the least possible number of known stresses and constraints, and the choice should not be based on economic considerations alone. The total impact of environmental stresses, both primary and secondary, must be evaluated so that adequate compensatory measure can be provided. The traditional cost-benefit analysis is not appropriate. Evaluation should be based on primary biological productivity, or perhaps on acres of specific types of habitat affected by the development. The facility design must minimize potential environmental damage. Seasonal changes in the intensity of natural phenomena must be considered in the design. However, environmental factors should be utilized in a positive manner wherever possible. For example, prevailing currents may be used as a natural flushing mechanism to move leakage and/or accidental spills away from the coast. Long-term restrictions must be included in the facility development plan. Once established, the Superport cannot be allowed to grow in a random manner. Case studies of existing projects clearly demonstrate that such development can only result in gradual environmental deterioration. Restrictions on land links, size and location of support facilities, and other constructions that may either directly or indirectly serve the port facility must be included in the original proposal. Facility operation must be conducted in a manner that will minimize environmental problems. The operation must be monitored by professional scientists. Monitoring should be conducted before, during and after construction in order to establish ecological baseline data necessary for evaluating environmental stresses and impact. It is assumed that these monitoring operations will be conducted by the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission and other authorized state and federal agencies. However, the authority and enforcement provisions of these agencies should be reviewed in reference to the Superport and responsibilities should be clearly defined. The enforcement provisions, along with mechanisms to insure cleanup of accidental spills by technical means with a surety bond to guarantee performance, are important environmental considerations. Compensatory provisions should be written into the plan, based on a realistic assessment of primary and secondary stresses created by the Superport development. Measures might include creating marshland preserves-in any portion of the state's coastal zone designed and managed such that the environment will be enhanced and biological productivity optimized. New marshlands might be built through controlled diversions near the mouth of the river. New land created through deltaic processes in shallow bays near the mouth of the Atchafalaya River might be placed under the control of a publicly owned wetland management trust. Supplementary freshwater injection or delivery systems might be constructed for use in estuarine management programs. Manmade barrier islands might be built along the shores of large lakes and bays to reduce erosion and diversify natural habitats. Thee and many other proposals should be evaluated and selected projects implemented with funds derived from Superport revenues. Careful consideration of environmental factors throughout the design, construction and operation phases of the project and the judicious use of compensatory provisions can insure that the Louisiana deepwater port will be of both economic and environmental benefit to the people of this state. V. SELECTED REFERENCES Bea, R. G., 1971, How Sea Floor Slides Affect Offshore Structures. Oil and Gas Journal, Nov. 1971, pp. 88–92. Blumer, M., G. Souza, and J. Sass, 1970, Hydrocarbon pollution of edible shellfish by an oil spill. Marine Biology, 5:195–202. Blumer, M. and J. Sass, 1972, Hydrocarbon pollution of edible shellfish by an oil spill. Science, V. 176 (4039):1120–1122. Day, J., W. J. Smith, P. Wagner and W. Stowe, 1972, Community Structure and Energy Flow in Salt Marsh and Shallow Bay Estuarine System in Louisiana. Department of Marine Science, Center for Wetland Resources, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mackin, J. and S. Hopkins, 1962, Studies on oyster mortality in relation to natural environments and to oil fields in Louisiana. Publ. Inst. Mar. Sci., University of Texas, 7:1-126 Mitchell, D. M., 1972, "The susceptibility of bluegill sunfish and channel catfish to crude oil and oil emulsifiers," unpublished MS thesis, LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Morgan, James P., James M. Coleman and S. M. Gagliano, "Mudlumps: Diapiric Structures in Mississippi Delta Sediments." reprinted from "Diapirism and Diapirs-Memoir No. 8," The Amer. Assoc. Pet. Geol., 1968. Murray, S. P., W. G. Sinith, and C. J. Sonu, 1970, Oceanographic Observations and Theoretical Analysis of Oil Slicks During the Chevron Spill, March 1970, Coastal Studies Institute, LSU, Technical Report No. 87. Penman, H. L.. 1976, The Water Cycle, Scientific American, v. 233(3):89–108. Shepard, Francis P., 1955, Delta Front Valleys Bordering the Mississippi Distributaries, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., V. 66:1489-1498. Smith, J. E. (Ed.), “Torrey Canyon, Pollution and Marine Life;" A report by the Plymouth Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 1968. Watson, J. A., S. A. Terry, and F. J. Buckmeir, Octanographic and RemoteSensing Survey in the Vicinity of the Shell Spill, Gulf of Mexico, January 1971, Final Report. Texas Instruments Incorporated, Prepared for Environmental Protection Agency, Contract No. 68-01-0017. SUPERPORT AND LOUISIANA'S Review of Kaiser/Gulf South Research Institute Study ECOLOGY CENTER OF LOUISIANA, INC. Reproduction made possible by Sierra Club, Delta Chapter REVIEW of KAISER/GULF SOUTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE STUDY THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF A LOUISIANA OFFSHORE OIL PORT SUBMITTED TO THE ECOLOGY CENTER OF LOUISIANA, INC. New Orleans, La. 70179 BY LLOYD C. IRLAND September, 1973 PREFACE On June 8, 1973, at a press conference at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Governor Edwin Edwards announced the release of an important document in the continuing efforts to assess the impacts on Louisiana of the deepwater oil terminal proposed for construction in the Gulf of Mexico off our coast. The report, entitled "The Economic Impact of a Louisiana Offshore Oil Port", was prepared under contract by H. J. Kaiser Company and Gulf South Research Institute for the Louisiana Superport Task Force; LOOP, Inc.; the Louisiana State Science Foundation; and the Economic Development Council of the Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans. The great potential for environmental damage from the construction and operation of a deepwater port and the facilities which will be needed to support it is generally recognized, even by the proponents of the port. Extensive environmental studies have been commissioned as a result of that recognition. This potential makes the Superport an issue of vital concern to the Ecology Center of Louisiana and to all of those who share the Center's interest in the future quality of life in Louisiana. The Governor's announcement of the basic findings of the study and its subsequent public release provided the people of Louisiana with access to some of the information they will need to decide whether or not such a facility off the Louisiana coast is desirable. This review of that report will prove to be, we hope, a valuable addition to the body of information on which the people of Louisiana will draw in the process of making that decision. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Lloyd C. Irland, Assistant Professor at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Special Consultant in Resource Economics to the Center, for the time and energy he devoted to the preparation of this review. We are especially grateful for the assistance rendered by Mr. P. J. Mills and the staff of the Louisiana Deep Draft Harbor & Terminal Authority and by Mr. William B. Read and the staff of LOOP, Inc. They provided invaluable aid in the form of information during the process of preparing the review and graciously gave of their time in order to discuss the details of the review prior to publication. Special thanks go to kaiser Engineers for their help. The assistance of the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club in making the reproduction of this review possible is, in this matter |