[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1323-1324]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           WORLD WETLANDS DAY

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today on World 
Wetlands Day to acknowledge the proclamation by the Governor of our 
State that today, February 2, America's Wetlands Day in Louisiana. 
World Wetlands Day is a day that we join together with people around 
the world to bring public awareness to the benefits and values of 
wetlands as well as the severe challenges that confront them. February 
2 of each year marks the date of the signing in 1971 of the Convention 
on Wetlands which provided a framework for national action and 
international cooperation toward the conservation and wise use of 
wetlands and their resources. Wetlands can be found in every country 
and are among the most productive ecosystems in the world.
  Those of us from Louisiana bring a rather unique perspective to the 
subject of wetlands. You see, Louisiana's coast is really America's 
wetland. It is not a beach, but a vast landscape of wetlands. The 
landscape that extends along Louisiana's coast is one of the largest 
and most productive expanses of coastal wetlands in North America. It 
is the seventh largest delta on Earth, where the Mississippi River 
drains two-thirds of the United States. It is also one of the most 
productive environments in America--``working wetlands'' as they are 
known to Louisianians--producing more seafood than any other State in 
the lower 48. It is the nursery ground for the Gulf of Mexico and 
habitat for the one of the greatest flyways in the world for millions 
of waterfowl and migratory songbirds.
  Louisiana's coastal wetlands provide storm protection for ports that 
carry nearly 500 million tons of waterborne commerce annually--the 
largest port system in the world by tonnage. That accounts for 21 
percent of all waterborne commerce in the United States each year. In 
fact, four of the top ten largest ports in the United States are 
located in Louisiana.
  These wetlands also offer protection from storm surge for 2 million 
people and a unique culture. However, what should be of fundamental 
interest to those of us here is the role these wetlands play in our 
Nation's energy security by not only protecting the Nation's critical 
energy infrastructure but also providing the energy supply that runs 
our daily lives.
  Eighty percent of the Nation's offshore oil and gas supply, which is 
almost 30 percent of all the oil and gas consumed in this country, 
passes through these wetlands to be distributed to the rest of the 
Nation. There are more than 20,000 miles of pipelines in Federal 
offshore lands and thousands more inland that all make landfall on 
Louisiana's barrier islands and wetland shorelines. The barrier islands 
are the first line of defense against the combined wind and water 
forces of a hurricane, and they serve as anchor points for pipelines 
originating offshore.
  Annual returns to the Federal Government of oil and gas receipts from 
production on the Outer Continental Shelf, OCS, average more than $5 
billion annually. No single area has contributed as much to the Federal 
treasury as the OCS. In fact, since 1953, the OCS has contributed $140 
billion to the U.S. Treasury.
  Between 80 and 90 percent of that amount has come from offshore 
Louisiana. In 2003, almost $6 billion in offshore revenues went into 
the Federal treasury, and more than $5 billion, or 80 percent of that 
amount came from offshore Louisiana. Today the OCS supplies more than 
25 percent of our Nation's natural gas production and more

[[Page 1324]]

than 30 percent our domestic oil production, with the promise of more--
expected to reach 40 percent by 2008. In fact, the OCS supplies more 
oil to our Nation than any other country including Saudi Arabia.
  In addition to domestic production, Louisiana's coast is the land 
base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, LOOP, America's only offshore 
oil port. LOOP handles about 15 percent of this country's foreign oil 
and is connected to more than 30 percent of the total refining capacity 
in the U.S. Much of the support infrastructure is located in the most 
rapidly deteriorating coastal areas. In addition to LOOP, one will find 
two storage sites for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, SPR, and Henry 
Hub, one of the Nation's major natural gas distribution centers.
  Port Fourchon, which supports 75 percent of the deepwater production 
in the Gulf, is the geographic and economic center of offshore drilling 
efforts along the Louisiana Coast. This port, and much of the Nation's 
energy supply, is connected to the mainland by a 17-mile stretch of 
two-lane highway--LA 1--that is inundated by flooding in relatively 
mild storms and is vulnerable to being washed out completely.
  The oil and gas produced offshore Louisiana moves through a maze of 
pipelines that crisscross our State delivering energy to other regions 
of the country. In order to preserve this supply, Louisiana must be 
able to continue to host this production. Unfortunately, the very 
coastal wetlands that support the critical infrastructure necessary to 
deliver the energy are washing away at an alarming rate leaving 
pipelines and other energy infrastructure vulnerable to the whims of 
Mother Nature.
  When Hurricane Ivan struck back in September, it should have been a 
wake-up call to us all. Although the storm did not directly hit 
Louisiana, its impact on prices and supply continues to be felt today. 
Four months later, a percentage of oil and gas production in the Gulf 
of Mexico remains offline as a result of the storm, directly 
contributing to higher oil and gas prices in our country. One can only 
imagine what the impact would have been to supply and prices had Ivan 
cut a more Western path in the Gulf.
  Louisiana is losing its coastal land at the staggering rate of 25 
square miles a year. That is square miles, not acres. That is a 
football field every 30 minutes. We lost more than 1,900 square miles 
in the past 70 years, and the U.S. Geological Survey predicts we will 
lose another 1,000 if decisive action is not taken now to save it. The 
effects of natural processes like subsidence and storms combined with 
the unintended consequences of Federal actions like the leveeing of the 
Mississippi River and impacts from offshore oil and gas exploration and 
development have led to an ecosystem on the verge of collapse.
  With the loss of barrier islands and wetlands over the next 50 years, 
New Orleans will lose its wetland buffer that now protects it from many 
effects of flooding. Hurricanes will pose the greatest threat, since 
New Orleans sits on a sloping continental shelf that makes it extremely 
vulnerable to storm surges.
  More than 2 million people in inland south Louisiana will be subject 
to more severe and frequent flooding than ever before. Coastal 
communities will become shore-front towns, and the economic and 
cultural costs of relocation are estimated in the billions of dollars.
  Louisiana takes pride in its role as the country's most crucial 
energy provider. Ours is a State rich in natural resources. However, 
given the contribution my State makes to the Nation, it is time for all 
of us to consider what the effects will be should we continue on our 
present track and ignore the problem. The fate of the country's energy 
supply and infrastructure are just one example of what is at stake.
  There are increasing signs that people around the country understand 
the seriousness of the situation. In a poll released today, 90 percent 
of the respondents said it was important to fund national efforts to 
restore Louisiana's wetlands in and around New Orleans as a means to 
limit the damage that a direct hit from a hurricane would cause to the 
area. It is now long past time for the Federal Government to step up 
and invest in a State that gives so much to the rest of the country.

                          ____________________