ADEM fines Mobile
ADEM fines Mobile, forces it into consent decree for failure to monitor stormwater runoff.
After years of failure to fully monitor what its storm drains flush into the bay, Mobile has been fined and forced by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to enter into a consent decree. A June 2011 audit of the city's program noted three violations:
- Failure to submit required stormwater management reports.
- Failure to properly fund the stormwater management permit program.
- Failure to develop a detailed construction-project monitoring system to monitor runoff.
ADEM imposed the relatively modest fine of $17,500. Each of the violations could have provoked a penalty of up to $25,000, according to the city.
To View the entire article visit:
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/02/adem_fines_mobile_forces_it_in.html
Job Opportunity with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is seeking a Regional Director for the organization’s Gulf and Southeast Oceans Program. The Director will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies related to EDF’s initiatives in Gulf and South Atlantic fisheries. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has expertise in fisheries and oceans policy and a demonstrated success managing regional teams and affecting environmental policy change. The Director will report to the Associate Vice President for Regional Programs and ideally be based in EDF’s Austin, Texas office. Visit the following link to apply and for more information. http://www.edf.org/jobs/regional-director-gulf-and-south-atlantic-oceans
News Conference: WORK TO BEGIN IN JOE’S BRANCH WATERSHED
A news conference to kickoff the project will be held, Monday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. at Bayfront Park in Daphne. Congressman Jo Bonner, Spanish Fort Mayor Joseph Bonner and Daphne Mayor Bailey Yelding will join officials from ADEM, ALDOT and other agencies.
Download the full announcement regarding the upcoming conference here.
Impacted Watershed, Joe’s Branch D’Olive
This before and after photo to the right shows the erosion on a tributary of Joe’s Branch. Ashley Campbell with the City of Daphne sits on a boulder that fell off the wall of the stream after a storm last summer. The second photo shows a completed step pool conveyance in Anne Arundel County, MD. The restoration of the tributary of Joe’s Branch will resemble the Maryland project. Click on the image for a full size view.
Restoration Location – the yellow area on the picture to the left shows the degraded drainage area that will be rehabilitated during this project. Click on the image for a full size view.
The NASA charts to the right compare the change in land use from forested and agricultural to urbanization in the D’Olive and Joe’s Branch watersheds 1974 to 2008. Click on the image for a full size view.
.png)
The Step Pool Conveyance diagram to the left illustrates the proposed design of step pools to be built in a tributary of Joe’s Branch. Step pools are designed to slow the volume and velocity of stormwater flowing through the creek, decrease the runoff of sediment downstream, and improve water quality.
The diagram to the right shows degraded streams and wetlands in the D’Olive Watershed.
The America’s WETLAND Foundation (AWF) applauds efforts of the American Carbon Registry and Energy
NEW ORLEANS-The America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) applauds efforts of the American Carbon Registry and Entergy Corporation to develop a protocol for quantifying the carbon value of coastal restoration projects, a process that could lead to reducing carbon and serve as a means to finance the restoration of coastal wetlands in Louisiana and throughout the Gulf region.
According to Valsin Marmillion, AWF managing director, the development of protocols that give industry the opportunity to invest in wetland restoration to offset carbon emissions could have a significant impact on the state since Louisiana has the vast majority of the nation's coastal wetlands. The AWF reported to the President's Task Force on Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration that creating beneficial uses of carbon both to reduce carbon and recycle or reuse it as a by-product creates incentives to find market solutions for carbon reduction.
"The American Carbon Registry and Entergy Partnership is a prime example of public private cooperation where the U.S. Government and Gulf states would be unable to afford such a valuable, timely study," Marmillion said.
The American Carbon Registry, a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, today announced an open public comment period for a new methodology to quantify how wetland restoration can help reduce carbon emissions and pay for repairing the disappearing coastal marshes.
The methodology was funded by Entergy Corporation and developed by a team led by Dr. Sarah K. Mack of New Orleans-based Tierra Resources. The methodology, if proven feasible, could help lead to the sale of credits for companies to offset carbon emissions.
For the past year, AWF and Entergy have partnered on research that quantified the economic impacts of climate on the Gulf region. The research has informed the Foundation's Blue Ribbon Resilient Communities project that is helping Gulf Coast communities plan for resiliency in light of sea level rise, more severe storm events and the increased vulnerability of critical infrastructure. Recommendations generated through the forums include establishing a viable CO2 market with incentives and investments in carbon sequestration and reuse through policy and public/private partnerships to create new market mechanisms and establishing protocols for tidal wetlands for use in carbon sequestration.
"We have great hopes for this new research as it is looking at the glass half full and not empty," noted Marmillion. "Entergy Corporation has been visionary in its efforts to help address vulnerabilities and risks due to rising sea level and increased storm events through practical, adaptive approaches by businesses and communities. The Blue Ribbon forums have featured a multi-million dollar study by Entergy and AWF to build greater awareness of vulnerable areas in the five Gulf Coast states, in considering the future and what steps need to be taken to ensure resilient economies, cultures, and environments. Now, through Entergy's funding beneficial use of carbon research, we may be one step closer to establishing coastal wetlands as viable for carbon sequestration and, at the same time, create new markets for carbon credits that could be used to fund wetland restoration."
"Science tells us that using wetlands like we do through reforestation to reduce carbon in the air could provide multiple opportunities," Marmillion said. "Through our national polling and our continuing series of Blue Ribbon Resilient Communities Forums, we have found support for creating new funding streams for coastal restoration and this may provide a new, big idea for raising hard to find restoration dollars. It's a win-win situation."
"We look forward to the comment period on the research and are hopeful about the results," Marmillion said. "There is no single answer to our severe funding needs, but one thing is certain, our coast is in jeopardy without dedicated resources to correct a long-term problem that can further weaken our nation and severely cripple our ecosystem. We are a nation comfortable with cost/benefit ratios, but in this case the cost/deficit ration of inaction is overwhelming and demands action or we will all be big losers."
More information:
American Carbon Registry: Mary Grady, (805) 884-1961, mgrady@winrock.org
Entergy Corp.: Mike Burns, (504) 576-4328, mburns@entergy.com
Terra Resources, Dr. Sarah Mack, (504) 339-4547, sarahmack@tierraresourcesllc.com
America's WETLAND Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has acted as a neutral arbiter for coastal interests since its inception in 2002, elevating issues facing the Gulf Coast, specifically those of coastal land loss, to regional and national attention.
This message and other America's WETLAND Foundation activities are made possible by the generous support by our sponsors including the following: Shell, Chevron, Allstate, API, BG Group, blue moon fund, Coypu Foundation, Entergy, Hornbeck Offshore Services; The McIlhenny Company, makers of Tabasco(C) brand pepper sauce, The Nature Conservancy, and the Walton Family Foundation, and thousands of individuals worldwide whose contributions support coastal replanting projects in Louisiana.
If your organization would like to join this growing coalition of industry, conservation and environmental organizations across the globe that see wetlands protection as a key to economic growth, please contact us. <http://www.amwetemail.com/action.cfm?md=communication&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=18&uid=ium5ejml&encoded=1&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eamericaswetland%2Ecom%2Fcustompage%2Ecfm%3Fpageid%3D255>
Cocktails with the Critters Presented by The Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation
Cocktails with Critters, the major fundraiser for the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation, will be Thursday, May 3, from 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm at Tacky Jacks on the Causeway. This will be an exciting evening overlooking Mobile Bay and enjoying the lively inspired sounds of the Modern Eldorados. For those seeking more thrills, there will be a fantastic silent auction. Tacky Jacks is pulling out all the stops and will be serving fabulous and tasty hors d’oeuvres and wine and beer.
For more information see the press release here.
Urban Waters Small Grants Request for Proposals (RFP)
Check out the Urban Waters Small Grants Request for Proposals in .pdf format.
AL Current Connection V6 Fall 2011 Issue 2
Check out our newest newsletter:
AL Current Connection V6 Fall 2011 Issue 2
The Exxon Valdez and BP Oil Spills: A Comparison of Initial Social and Psychological Impacts
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and the 2010 BP oil spill were the largest and most ecologically damaging releases of oil in North American history.This research provides a comparison of the social and mental health impacts of these two major technological disasters. Random samples of residents of Cordova,Alaska, and south Mobile County, Alabama, were collected 5 months after each event.A standardized indicator of event- related stress was used for both samples.The analysis revealed similarly high levels of initial psychological stress for survivors of both disasters.The strongest predictors of stress were family health concerns, commercial ties to renewable resources, and concern about economic future, economic loss, and exposure to the oil. Drawing on more than 20 years of research on the Exxon Valdez disaster, we discuss implications for residents of Gulf Coast communities.
To view the full report in .pdf format click here.
Grant Money Available to Create & Restore Habitat
The GCRP is a partnership between the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, the 5 Gulf States, EPA and NOAA. Restoration Funds are provided under a grant from the NOAA Community Restoration Program. Individual Grants awards under the GCRP normally are in the $50,000-$100,000 range and require a 1:1 match. Match may be provided in funds, in-kind services (including volunteer hours), or materials.
All projects must:
Result in on-the-ground habitat restoration; Provide significant, long-term benefit to “NOAA Trust Resources,” Involve the local community through an educational or volunteer component tied to the restoration activities; Provide a 1:1 nonfederal match to the partnership cash contribution (please see the “Funding” section); and Include a mechanism to monitor and evaluate the success/failure of the project (please see the “Minimum Monitoring/Evaluating Requirements” Section).
NOAA Trust Resources Include:
Commercial and recreational fishery resources (marine finfish and shellfish and their habitats); Anadromous species (fish, such as Gulf sturgeon, Alabama shad, and striped bass, that spawn in freshwater and then migrate to the sea); Threatened and endangered marine species and their habitats; Marine mammals, sea turtles, and their habitats; Marshes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and other coastal habitats; and Resources associated with National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves.
Please take a look at the attached (Gulf of Mexico Foundation Funds) RFP and let me know if you are interested in applying for a grant this funding cycle. If so, I can provide technical assistance in preparing your application.
Thanks,
Carl Ferraro, GEMS Manager/Alabama GCRP Committee Representative
Natural Resource Planner ADCNR-State Lands Division-Coastal Section
31115 – 5 Rivers Blvd., Spanish Fort, AL 36527. Voice: 251-621-1216, Fax: 251-621-1331
Email: carl.ferraro@dcnr.alabama.gov