Dear ,
Our hearts are with those affected and threatened by the flooding of the Mississippi River. As another disaster looms here in Louisiana, we are still coping with the damage left from BP. One year has passed and we continue to see the impacts on our coast and in our communities.
It’s going to be a long road to restoration and we need to make sure the Gulf fully recovers from BP's crude. The natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) process will determine the scope of the injuries to our Gulf and identify the next steps needed to restore it.
The restoration of the Gulf is vital to its ecological and economic recovery and the NRDA process should to reflect the needs of the region. NRDA funds should not to be used for economic projects like port expansions or highway infrastructure; the restoration should be focused on the impacted environments. And since the vast majority of the damage occurred offshore in the marine environment we need to ensure that deepwater is restored and protected.
The NRDA, or environmental claims process will make BP pay to restore our coastal and marine environments, but they need to hear from us first. Help us respond to the disaster by submitting a comment to the NRDA Trustees. Tell them that environmental claims process must:
- Be transparent and include public participation before major decision making
- Ensure that independent, long-term monitoring and research is part of the restoration plan
We need your support in calling for thorough, transparent, and participatory restoration. Submit your comments here:
http://grn.convio.net/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=219
For the Gulf and its communities,
Aaron Viles
Deputy Director
