Lagging MMS returns a concern among locals

Numerous local citizens, business owners and public officials spoke out Thursday evening at a public forum hosted by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the arm of the federal government that oversees oil and gas leasing.

For many years, local and state officials have complained that while the federal government leases tracts of land to be drilled for its mineral wealth, very little is returned to local governments and communities in order to deal with the impacts that the drilling brings.

As recently as this year, Gov. Kathleen Blanco filed suit against the federal government in an attempt to force MMS to pay a portion of the monies derived from Gulf drilling to be used to improve affected infrastructure in coastal parishes.

Several speakers noted that the federal government is not meeting its own requirements by mitigating for coastal land and infrastructure impacts where oil and gas is drilled. “The draft EIS for this lease sale lacks mitigation measure for LA 1,” said Henri Boulet, executive director of the LA1 Coalition. Boulet suggested that the leases being considered should include a fee to offset the $220 million needed to complete work done on a segment of elevated highway from Golden Meadow to Port Fourchon.

Representatives of several local entities n including the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, South Lafourche Levee District as well as private businesses such as Lafourche Telephone Company and Vision Communications n addressed MMS officials on the impacts that oil and gas drilling have had on the local area.

Tony Duet, speaking for Lafourche Telephone, acknowledged to the federal officials present that “effective communications systems are vital to the continued growth of our community as well as future Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) activity.” Duet noted how little land remains in the southern reaches of Lafourche Parish and how that makes providing proper communications more difficult as the years pass.

“The absence of a plan for mitigating these land losses is troubling,” he said.

Dirk Barrios, head of Lafourche Parish Water District No.1, explained how the water district has virtually doubled its operation in the last few years to meet demands brought on by a burgeoning oil and gas economy. He said that in recent years, the district has spent $25 million to upgrade water capacity and has laid over 24 miles of new water lines to Port Fourchon.

“We’ve also constructed two new 500,000-gallon water towers and we have over 20 miles of additional water lines under construction or design. We have also had to relocate miles of water lines for the construction of the new elevated highway,” Barrios said. “All of this has been done with no help from the federal government. Virtually all of the growth has been due to growth from increased OCS work, but no help to address these infrastructure needs has come from MMS or anybody else. Follow your own rules and help us to address these needs and issues.”

That sentiment was echoed by a number of other speakers.

“We’ve seen the impacts, we’ve lived it,” said resident and businessman Neil Adams. “We can’t afford to lose anymore.”

Last Thursday’s hearing in Larose was held to seek input on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that MMS is releasing in March. The statement will come just ahead of some 11 oil and gas lease sales proposed for the central and western Gulf of Mexico between 2007 and 2012.

Comments are being accepted until Jan. 2, 2007, at environment@mms.gov. Comments may also be mailed to: Regional Supervisor, Leasing and Environment (MS 5410), Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123-2394. Envelopes should be labeled, “Comments on the Multisale EIS.”