Louisiana working on Gulf accord |
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Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:10
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana leaders in coastal restoration efforts are pushing for four Gulf Coast energy-producing states to work together as 'America's Energy Coast' on policies that can help combat coastal erosion.Officials who gathered Friday at a forum to discuss the collaboration hope Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas can have a written accord in place by the June 1 start of hurricane season, said Val Marmillion, managing director of America's Wetland Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is focused on raising awareness about Louisiana's coastal loss.The compact between the states could include policy suggestions and could help combine the states' power for more effective lobbying of energy, climate and coastal issues in Congress, Marmillion said.Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the states need to coordinate their strategies to strengthen hurricane protection and coastal restoration and to ensure the nation's energy supply is secure.'We cannot do it by ourselves in Louisiana,' said former U.S. Sen. John Breaux, chairman of Friday's forum.The effort to form the coastal accord includes representatives of government, private industry and non-governmental organizations.Louisiana has lost 1,900 square miles of land to coastal erosion since the 1930s. Another 500 square miles are projected to be lost in the next 50 years, threatening the nation's oil and gas supply, seafood supply and ecosystem. A quarter of the entire nation's energy supply flows through Louisiana, Blanco said.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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