Copyright 1999 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
May 03, 1999
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 3027 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY May 03, 1999 BENNY ROUSSELLE PARISH PRESIDENT PLAQUEMINES PARISH
GOVERNMENT HOUSE RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND REINVESTMENT
BODY:
PRESENTATION IN SUPPORT OF
CONSERVATION AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 1999 (H.R.701) AND
PERNIANENTPROTECTIOiVFORAi'VIERICA'SRESOURCES2000ACT (H.R. 798) Benny Rousselle
Parish President Plaquemines Parish Government Legislative Field Hearing
Louisiana State Supreme Court New Orleans, Louisiana May 3,1999 Introduction
Plaquernines Parish is the southernmost parish in Louisiana. It extends
southeastward for 90 miles from New Orleans into the deeper waters of the Gulf
of Mexico and is bisected by the Mississippi River. The southern two-thirds of
the parish is a peninsula surrounded by waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The parish
is a product of the Mississippi River, having been created through sediment
deposition during two episodes of delta building: the St. Bernard delta
beginning around 4500 years ago and the Modem Plaquemines delta which began
around 950 years ago. Natural levees comprise about eight percent of the parish,
while drained swamp and marshland adjacent to the these uplands cover another
six percent of the parish (U. S. Dept. of Agri.-Natural Resource Conservation
Service 1999) for a total area of approximately 60,000 acres (van Beek et al.
1986.) Barrier beaches and spoil disposal areas at South Pass and Southwest Pass
comprise approximately six percent of the parish. The vast majority of the
parish (over 80 percent) consists of low-lying wetlands (van Beek et al. 1986).
Between 1956 and 1990, approximately 194,400 acres (304 square miles) of
Plaquernines Parish disappeared at an average rate of 5,717 acres per year (8.9
square miles per year) (National Wetlands Resources Center 1999). This land loss
is the result of a combination of numerous natural and man-made factors
including: leveeing of the Mississippi River, a decrease in sediment being
carried by the river, subsidence, sea level rise, construction of pipeline
canals and rig access canals, dredging of navigation channels, saltwater
intrusion into freshwater habitats, extraction of water and hydrocarbons, wave
erosion, and faulting. Plaquernines Parish has been a staging platform and
support base for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) mineral exploration and
production since the 1950s. Land use activities and facilities directly related
to OCS activities include: ports, shipyards, supply/service bases, refineries,
pipe coating/storage yards, gas processing plants, heliports, deep-draft
channels, and pipeline corridors. OCS Related Impacts to Plaquernines Parish The
Port of Venice is geographically positioned to strategically stage operations to
the U. S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service's (MMS)
Central and Eastern Planning Areas of the OCS. Approximately 100 companies
conduct OCS mineral related operations from the Port of Venice, other ports, and
dock facilities located within the parish (Plaquernines Port Authority 1999).
Four refineries that process oil, gas, and sulfur extracted from the OCS are
located in the parish. Plaquemines Parish also provides landfall for over 40 OCS
pipelines from the gulf and linear corridors for numerous OCS product pipelines
that pass through the parish transporting hydrocarbons to storage areas and
processing/refining plants in other parts of the state and the United States
(Wicker et al. 19S6). At least 20 interstate pipeline companies have pipeline
facilities in the parish. The operation of OCS related facilities and activities
in Plaquernines Parish has had numerous impacts on the natural and human
environment. For example, wetlands have been lost or degraded through both
primary and secondary impacts associated with installation and maintenance of
OCS pipelines, booster stations, and metering stations; processing, storage and
staging facilities; and associated development. Canals constructed for OCS
pipelines and navigation remove wetlands directly at the time of construction
and secondarily through boat wake and wind generated erosion of canal banks.
Incidental oil spills and release of non- hazardous oilfield waste can degrade
or destroy wetlands and submerged aquatic habitats, including oyster reefs.
Water quality can be degraded through point source discharges from processing,
storage, and sta2ina facilities; oil spills; release of non-hazardous oilfield
waste; and through illegal discharges from marine vessels. Loss of wetlands
flanking the natural levees and developed sites also contributes to the
degradation of water quality because the vegetation is no longer present to
filter potential pollutants running off of upland and developed sites. The human
environment of Plaquemines Parish, as related to infrastructure, services,
socio-economics, and general way of life, also has experienced impacts from OCS
activities and facilities. For example, highways have had to be upgraded and
require more frequent maintenance as a result of the heavy truck traffic and
generally higher traffic volumes associated with deliveries of OCS related
materials and supplies. The higher traffic volumes have resulted in traffic
congestion and public safety concerns with which the parish must contend.
Sustaining the nationally strategic OCS related development and support bases in
Plaquernines Parish requires that considerable funds be expended on equipment,
materials, and personnel to maintain extensive flood protection levees and
drainage districts along both sides of the Mississippi River. Support of direct
and indirect OCS related facilities and businesses has placed high demand on the
parish for potable water, public utilities, solid waste disposal sites, and
non-hazardous oilfield waste disposal sites. Increases in local and transient
populations associated with OCS activities have required the parish to provide
additional services in the areas of emergency response, police, schools,
education, recreational areas and activities, hospitals, general medical
treatment and social services. Furthermore, the parish has had to maintain a
high level of emergency response readiness to evacuate large numbers of OCS
personnel, equipment, and vehicles via the protected Mississippi River corridor
prior to hurricane and tropical storm landfalls. During cyclic downturns in the
OCS economy, the parish must still maintain existing services and infrastructure
as well as provide needed social services. Future OCS Activities in the Gulf of
Mexico While the oilfield industry is marked with cyclical economic ups and
downs, the stage is set for a new era of oil and gas exploration and development
in the Gulf of Mexico, much of which will be staged out of Plaquernines Parish.
A strong economy, technological advancements, multiple deepwater discoveries,
passage of the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (DRRA) (Public Law 104-58, Title
III), and the availability through the MMS's active leasing program of new and
viable prospects have resulted in the revival of mineral exploration and
development in the Gulf of Mexico (Cranswick and Regg 1997). Innovative
deepwater drilling and development technologies provide the means to operate in
water depths that are not economically viable for conventional platforms used in
shallower OCS waters (Cranswick and Regg 1997). In addition, advanced
geophysical exploration technologies are rekindling interests in developing
existing, shallow water prospects by providing a means of finding "new" mineral
reserves in previously surveyed areas. For instance, 3-D seismic surveys are
presently being- conducted on speculation with data compiled and marketed to
potential buyers (Louton, per. comm. 1997). Another advancement, the development
of 4-D seismic technology, provides a means of overlaying existing 2-D and 3-D
seismic data for estimating the depletion of reservoirs (Quilio, per. comm.
1997). The number of active mineral leases in the Gulf of Mexico increased from
approximately 5,000 in 1995, to 6,177 in January, 1997; and were protected to
exceed 8,300 in 1998, a 40 percent increase (Cranswick and Regg 1997). The NIMS
conducted two record- breaking lease sales in 1997 that consisted of a total of
1,800 tracts at a price of SI.5 billion (Gresham 1997). Lease Sale 169,
attracted S784,120,709 in high bids in 1998 (TNMS 1998). In March of 1999, the
seventh lease conducted under DRRA guidelines, Lease Sale 172, resulted in hi-h
bids from 67 companies totaling SI 71,804,696 (MMS 1999a). In addition, the MMS
announced the notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
regarding Eastern Gulf Sale 181 that will be tentatively bid in December, 2001
(MMS 1999c). By April 19, 1999, there were 2,984 active leases in waters
exceeding 1,000 feet in depth in the Gulf of Mexico, 1,408 approved applications
to drill, but only 22 producing platforms (MMS 1999b and Melancon and Baud
1999). Mr. Peter J. Robertson, President of Chevron U.S.A. Production, described
the keen industry interests in deepwater gulf exploration (The Advocate 1997):
The Gulf of Mexico's (deepwater) is now considered one of the world's great
frontiers and is luring companies from around the - lobe. Not only has
technology reduced the cost of getting at these deep reserves, but the
reservoirs themselves look much better than we imagined. Accordingly, Chevron's
number of deepwater leases increased from 16 in 1990 to 362 by November, 1997
(The Advocate 1997). Mr. Robertson states that deepwater development and
production will increase 42 percent to 1.7 billion barrels over the next ten
years (77ie Advocate 1997). By the year 2003, deepwater wells will account for
55 to 63 percent of the daily oil production and 24 to 29 percent of the daily
gas production in the entire gulf (Melancon and Baud 1999). The Gulf of Mexico's
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) production from leases granted by the MMS should
increase from 945 Million Barrels Oil/Day (MBOD) in 1995 to a range from 1,537
to 1,910 MBOD by the end of the year 2,001. (Mclancon and Baud 1999). During
this six-year period, the potential exists for an increase in production of over
100 percent. its report, Global Offshore Oil Prospects to 2000, the
International Energy Agency, Paris, France, projects that offshore production
activity "...will not only be sustained, but will accelerate through the year
2000" (Offshore 1997). According to Louisiana State University economist, Dr.
Loren C. Scott, the Gulf of Mexico will remain active for one primary reason -
the oil companies' low cost of producing oil (Gresham 1997). For instance, Shell
Oil's deepwater Auger platform produced oil at a cost of S 13.35 per barrel in
1994. Ursa, Shell's latest deepwater platform, is protected to cost $6.80 per
barrel at the end of 1999 (Gresham 1997). Ocean Energy's cost savings are
similar with costs of S 1 0.36 per barrel in 1994, dropping to ST I 0 per barrel
in 1997 (Gresham 1997). Economic predictions of oil costs dropping from the
current $20 per barrel to $16 and 7 per barrel will still allow the
operators to remain profitable (Gresham 1997). The MMS has a
preliminary impression that unlike the last oil and gas boom, much of the
activity will be more centralized (Louton, per. comm. 1997). Deepwater operators
will not use a port if they cannot -et loaded and turned around quickly (Louton,
per. comm. 1997). Servicing deepwater operations is more demanding (e.g., deeper
draft requirements, heavier cargoes, larger crane requirements, etc.) and
service companies are tending to locate in concentrated areas of activity
(Louton, per. comm. 1997). The deepwater prospects have spawned a new generation
of offshore service boats, requiring deeper drafts and the capability to carry
heavier loads for further distances (Louton, per. comm. 1997). These vessels
require deepwater port facilities (Louton, per. comm. 1997). According to Mr.
Joe Agular of Johnson Rice & Co., New Orleans, there is a clear
shortage of rigs and boats for the gulf s deepwater. He explains, "(t)his has
been pushed along even further by continued increases in (offshore) leasing
activity. Big Oil and major independents (alike) are making commitments to the
deepwater markets"(Hall 1997). The N/IMS presently has no definition for the
term 'deepwater port' (Louton, per. comm. 1997), but defines 'deepwater
prospects' as mineral development areas where water depths exceed 1,000 feet
(Cranswick and Regg 1997). The MMS is planning to determine which ports can be
utilized by the large supply boats that presently are being constructed at
shipyards throughout south Louisiana to supply deepwater prospects (Louton, per.
comm. 1997). These vessels may require port channel depths exceeding 20 feet
(Louton, per. comm. 1997). Water depth and hull draft will not be the
only criteria in determinin if a port can be classified as deepwater (Louton,
per. comm. 1997). Port facilities must have the capability to (absorb intermodal
deliveries and) efficiently load the boats (Louton, per. comm. 1997). Due to the
overlapping of goods and services needed for deepwater and shallow shelf
exploration and production activities and the number of companies involved in
both, the MMS has had difficulty clearly discerning and differentiating the two
in ongoing studies (Louton, per. comm. 1997). The interest to drill new wells is
not limited to deepwater leases (Louton, per.. 1997). Tremendous advances have
also been made in exploration and production in shallow continental shelf areas
as a result of advances in 3-D seismic and new and safer horizontal and multiple
drilling technologies (Louton, per. comm. 1997). Three-dimensional
seismic technology is renewing interests in fields long thought "played out"
(Louton, per. comm. 1997). The 3-D surveys are also providing geologists with
Improved data for finding new discoveries in fault lenses which in the past were
too difficult to drill (Louton, per. comm. 1997). According to Ivanovich (1997):
For years, producers' efforts to find oil and gas beneath the numerous salt
formations that litter the gulf seabed were thwarted because the structures
distorted the seismic data. Three- dimensional seismic and graphic imaging
techniques developed in the last few years are allowing producers to locate
shallow prospects missed by earlier technology. Discoveries and projections of
new oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico continue. For instance, the
maritime boundary agreement between the U. S. and Mexico reached in
1978, and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1997, has resulted in additional
available deepwater prospects. Drilling in the 10,000-foot water depths of two
areas, known as the "Gaps" or "Doughnut Holes", located along the new
international boundary in the middle of the gulf was considered unthinkable
twenty years ago, but technological advances since that time have placed
potentially large mineral reserves within reach (The Advocate 1997b).
Utilization of Proposed OCS Funding Plaquemines Parish will be challenged to
combat environmental and socio-economic impacts from OCS activities. The
potential funding available as a result of passage of one or both of the
proposed bills (e.g., Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999
and Permanent Protection for America's Resources 2000 Act) is crucial to the
Parish's ability to achieve these goals. Under the Conservation and
Reinvestment Act o 1999, funds would be allocated as follows:
Title I - coastal restoration, Title 11 - land acquisition and recreation, and
Title 111 - wildlife conservation and education, including- wetland habitat
restoration and acquisition. In Louisiana, Title I funds could also be allocated
for mitigating onshore impacts of OCS activities, such as infrastructure and
public services. Louisiana's recently released report Coast 2050: Toward a
Sustainable Coastal Louisiana (Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and
Restoration Task Force and Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority
1998), identified a number of regional ecosystem strategies for conserving and
restoring wetlands in coastal Louisiana. Within Plaquernines Parish these
strategies include: Use existing locks to divert Mississippi River water at
Empire Manage outfall of existing, diversions at Naomi and West Pointe-a- la
Hache Continue building and maintaining delta splays along the
Mississippi River Construct more effective small diversions east and west of
Empire Construct sediment trap in the Mississippi River south of Venice and
double handle dredged material to create new marsh in the Birdsfoot Delta
Construct a delta-building diversions in the Myrtle Grove/Naomi area Bastion Bay
area Benny's Bay area between Main Pass and Baptiste Collette Bayou American Bay
area Quarantine Bay area Prevent loss of bedload off the Continental Shelf by
relocating the Mississippi River Navigation Channel south of Venice Construct
wave absorbers at the heads of bays such as the Lake Washington/Grand Ecaille
area and upper Breton Sound Basin Construct reef zones across bays to enhance
estuarine fisheries habitat Extend and maintain barrier shoreline from
Sandy Point to Southwest Pass The availability of OCS funds would facilitate
implementation of the already identified wetland conservation and restoration
strategies sooner, thus, directly and immediately benefiting Plaquemines Parish.
In addition, funding could be used to address economic issues related to natural
resource harvesting, especially oyster growing and leased areas, that would be
impacted by the delta-building and freshwater diversion strategies for creating
or conserving wetlands. Funding directed toward restoration and maintenance of
wetlands and water quality would benefit and enhance the propagation and
sustainability of marine organisms including finfish, shellfish, and
microorgamisms in the estuarine food web. Economic activities related to the
harvesting, of renewable resources (i.e., commercial fisheries and trapping)
would also be enhanced and perpetuated. This funding also would sustain
water-based recreational opportunities (i.e., sports fishing, crabbing, boating,
and sightseeing) and expand new business and educational opportunities
related to eco-tounsm. References References available on hard copy
LOAD-DATE: May 11, 1999 
