Gulf Coast Coal and Petrochemical Facilities Still Not Storm Ready
On August 6, SkyTruth and four other environmental organizations comprising the Gulf Monitoring Consortium (GMC) announced their findings from a review of pollution reported from petrochemical and fossil fuel processing facilities during and immediately after Hurricane Isaac. Based self-reporting by “responsible parties” to state and federal authorities, GMC members found operators blamed the storm for at least the following pollution from their facilities:
341,044 gallons of oil, chemicals, and untreated waste-water
192.3 tons of gases and other materials (354,819 pounds)
12.6 million gallons of untreated “process area water” from one overwhelmed facility
- Substantial amounts of pollution were released into the environment due to damage from the only hurricane to make landfall on the Gulf Coast in 2012.
- Harmful chemicals, including recognized neurotoxins and carcinogens, were released due to damage from the storm.
- Despite advance warning of the storm path and intensity, operators used the weather as an excuse for polluting.
- Fossil fuel infrastructure in the Gulf Region is vulnerable to predictable tropical weather events.
- Oil from the BP / Deepwater Horizon disaster continues to wash ashore.
GMC Member Organizations:
- SkyTruth
- SouthWings
- Waterkeeper Alliance represented by the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
- Gulf Restoration Network
- Louisiana Bucket Brigade
Below: Image highlights from GMC monitoring trips and Investigations – photos may be reproduced so long as credit is attributed to the individual or organizations named.