Costs of the Macondo spill continue to flow.
Robert Barham, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, says the impact from the spill is still wreaking havoc with the environment of south Louisiana,
and is especially hard on the fishing industries - commercial and sport - and with media attention now virtually gone, the problems remaining seem forgotten. From Bob Marshall at the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
You see, 12 months after that accident, his agency and the resources it is charged with protecting, are still reeling. The gusher may have been capped last July, but the damages to the habitat and costs to the DWF keep flowing. And, by the way, sportsmen are footing part of that bill.
Barham spent last week attempting an impossible juggling act: Showing the world's media that BP's oil still fouls some parts of our estuaries, that the damage will take years to clean and to assess, and that the oil giant is reneging on promises to make us whole again -- but at the same time trying to convince them the products of that habitat -- fish, crabs and oysters -- are safe for human consumption and the wetlands are still beautiful and a great playground for sportsmen.
Unfortunately, the media couldn't help but notice he was talking out of both sides of his mouth. Reviewing a sampling of the reports generated last week, it was obvious journalists were trying to be even-handed, but they couldn't ignore the obvious: There's still oil here, no one is sure how long it will stay or what the ultimate impacts will be -- and BP is not the eager penitent it promised to be.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Louisiana, like most DWF departments nationwide, relies heavily on the sale of fishing licenses for funding. Barham says sales of licenses have dropped by 27,000. These fees generate $15 each, and are matched by federal funds and distributed to the states.
Barham chafes remembering BP's media campaign to "make it right", when BP is now trying to shift blame, induce legal roadblocks, and ostensibly weasel out of payments.
"We made a direct claim to BP after furnishing them untold amounts of information," he said. "They wanted to see not just the records from last year but the previous three years, broken down by months and weeks. And we gave them all that.
"Then we had to negotiate. And we did that. And on Dec. 19 of last year, they agreed to pay us $2.56 million for the losses they caused. We shook hands on it.
"Well, as of today, I do not have one red cent from BP. Not one penny."
But what worries Barham is that this might only be the tip of the bad-news iceberg. For example, biologists are not sure if toxins in the water will have a long-term impact on key species, just as no one can be sure how quickly the state's fishing resources will regain their reputation. Some guides say their 2011 business is down by 50 percent, signaling a continuing drop in non-resident licenses. Marinas and bait dealers are waiting for locals to vote with their boats as the big summer season approaches.
Barham is now relying on the federal Oil Pollution Act to help - holding parties responsible for environmental impacts that turn up years after the incident, but says BP has already sent a request to sign documents that will release them from any future financial responsibilities, should the area not recover, or continue in decline. Barham refused to sign away the option to recover monies later.
"I'm not about to do that," the secretary said. "Look what happened in Alaska. They went along and things looked fine for a year or two, then the bottom fell out of herring, which have never come back, and they have a lot of other problems.
"What if two years from now, speckled trout fall off? What do you think is going to happen to our license sales then?
"This isn't over. Not by a long shot."
No, sir...it's not.
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