ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 185
BY REPRESENTATIVE GAROFALO
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the Department of Homeland Security to direct the United States Coast
Guard (USCG) to implement all reasonable containment, countermeasures, cleanup
and removal efforts allowable during active response while allowing substantive
input from and in collaboration with the state of Louisiana and the affected coastal
parishes to ensure an efficient, coordinated, and effective cleanup of coastal
Louisiana prior to bringing an active response to an end.
WHEREAS, coastal Louisiana is considered an economic engine and national
treasure that is of critical importance to the entire nation as a wildlife sanctuary, nursery
ground, and source of energy and recreation; and
WHEREAS, coastal Louisiana provides habitat for millions of migratory birds
traversing the Gulf of Mexico, is the nation's top producer of shrimp, crawfish, and blue
crabs, has the highest rate of crude oil production and the second highest rate of natural gas
production in the nation, and generated approximately two billion in annual revenues from
the recreational fishing industry and approximately $9.3 billion in 2010 in annual revenues
from the tourism industry, rendering coastal Louisiana's unique culture, plentiful natural
resources, and natural beauty vital to the survival of our region and nation; and
WHEREAS, coastal Louisiana was greatly impacted on April 20, 2010, when the
Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling unit, which was being used to drill an exploratory well
for BP Exploration and Production, Inc. (BP), violently exploded, killed eleven Americans,
caught fire and eventually sank resulting in the unauthorized discharge of an estimated five
million barrels (210 million gallons) of MC252 oil into the Gulf of Mexico and ultimately
the majority of which came into and upon the waters and coastline of Louisiana, marking
this to be an environmental disaster of unprecedented proportions; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 185
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WHEREAS, over the course of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, approximately 660
miles of coastal Louisiana received some degree of oiling and seventy-five percent (270.2
miles) of the total miles of heavy to moderately oiled shoreline (360.3 miles) were located
in coastal Louisiana, making Louisiana the most impacted state in the gulf; and
WHEREAS, approximately two years after the incident, coastal Louisiana continues
to be impacted by the incident as established by April 21, 2012, response data, which
indicates that over 214 miles of Louisiana's shorelines continue to show some degree of
oiling; and
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana has reached out to the USCG, the lead federal
agency charged with effectively removing the oil caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,
requesting that the USCG implement all reasonable containment, countermeasures, cleanup,
and removal efforts allowable during active response under the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (40 C.F.R. ยง300) (NCP), yet the USCG remains
focused on prematurely ending Deepwater Horizon response; and
WHEREAS, the USCG has failed to give the state of Louisiana an opportunity for
meaningful collaboration on multiple occasions in plan development and decisionmaking,
which is of vital importance in ensuring that decisions being made are truly reflective of
current oiling conditions, and protective of the long-term needs of coastal Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, despite the fact that Louisiana's affected coastal parishes possess local
knowledge that is critical to successfully responding to response efforts within their borders,
the USCG has continued to exclude the affected coastal parishes from actively participating
in response efforts after clearly guaranteeing that the coastal parishes would be given a
participatory role and decisionmaking authority in the demobilization of cleanup efforts and
the end of Deepwater Horizon response; and
WHEREAS, the USCG has failed to enforce BP's cleanup of over one thousand
boom anchors throughout coastal Louisiana, which continue to pose a significant risk to
navigation, commercial operations, and recreational users of coastal Louisiana, and have
caused property damage to a number of boaters; and
WHEREAS, the USCG has refused to direct BP to remove the orphaned boom
anchors despite the state of Louisiana's repeated efforts to: (1) point out the hazard posed
by the presence of the orphaned boom anchors; (2) ask that the USCG properly investigate ENROLLEDHCR NO. 185
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the danger and risk of the orphaned boom anchors; and (3) request that the USCG undertake
removal efforts to remove the risk created by the orphaned boom anchors; and
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana and coastal parishes remain very concerned about
MC252 submerged oil in and along our coast and the potential for oil to continue washing
ashore and have repeatedly requested that the USCG implement removal of submerged oil
as a response action to mitigate damage to the public health and welfare of the United States
including but not limited to fish, shellfish, wildlife, public and private property, shorelines
and beaches, and to the environment of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, reverting to a legacy response system is inadequate to protect and
ensure full cleanup of coastal Louisiana due to the unprecedented magnitude of the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the disproportionate impacts to Louisiana, and the unique
nature of our shoreline; the state of Louisiana has continuously asked that the USCG
implement a plan for maintenance and long-term monitoring of coastal Louisiana to identify
the presence and location of unaccounted for MC252 oil in and along coastal Louisiana and
removal of such oil; and
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana and affected coastal parishes are greatly
concerned that the USCG will prematurely withdraw response capacity prior to executing
the necessary and robust response efforts to which it has previously committed, and
Louisiana and the coastal parishes insist that Deepwater Horizon response activities continue
until it can be demonstrated that MC252 oil no longer affects Louisiana shorelines and the
uncertainty surrounding unaccounted for oil is resolved.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the USCG to do all of the following:
(1) Continue the necessary and robust response efforts to which it has previously
committed and refrain from pursuing a premature exit strategy from the Deepwater Horizon
response.
(2) Coordinate with the state of Louisiana and affected coastal parishes to ensure that
decisions being made are truly reflective of current oiling conditions and are protective of
the long-term needs of coastal Louisiana. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 185
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(3) Reconsider the removal of orphaned boom anchors that continue to pose a
significant risk to navigation, commercial operations, and recreational users of coastal
Louisiana.
(4) Develop a plan to investigate a method for locating, identifying, and removing
MC252 submerged oil in Louisiana waters.
(5) Develop a maintenance and long-term monitoring plan to address continued
oiling on Louisiana shorelines.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that for the duration of the Deepwater Horizon
response, the USCG shall engage, collaborate with, and incorporate information and
perspective from the affected coastal parishes, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Cameron Parish.
(2) Iberia Parish.
(3) Jefferson Parish.
(4) Lafourche Parish.
(5) Orleans Parish.
(6) Plaquemines Parish.
(7) St. Bernard Parish.
(8) St. Mary Parish.
(9) St. Tammany Parish.
(10) Terrebonne Parish.
(11) Vermilion Parish.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the Louisiana congressional delegation,
with a request that the Louisiana congressional delegation undertake all efforts within their
means to ensure the objectives of this Resolution are achieved.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE