BP Horizon DisasterThreatens Vulnerable Communities Still Devastated by Katrina
As all eyes turn towards our Coast and landfall of the BP Horizon Disaster oil slick, Equity and Inclusion Campaign calls on federal officials to address the full scope of social, economic and environmental impacts facing communities bordering the Gulf of Mexico.
“We are operating in disaster response mode,” says Adren Wilson, National Director of the Equity and Inclusion Campaign, “and the severity of the situation is still unknown. But what we do know is that maritime workers and fisherman whose livelihoods, health and security, as well as the ecosystems that are now jeopardized, need to come first.”
While the Equity and Inclusion Campaign supports Capitol Hill efforts to address drilling safeguards, environmental safety requirements, tougher inspections and oversight of offshore rigs, the Campaign also calls on Congress to accelerate offshore oil royalty mechanisms and ensure that royalties fund coastal protection and restoration in all Gulf states.
The Equity and Inclusion Campaign has long supported offshore oil royalty mechanisms to fund coastal protection and restoration in this already compromised ecosystem, which is essential to hurricane protection for coastal and inland communities.
“It may be federal waters, but it is coastal communities that carry the costs of oil and gas production,” stated Wilson, “for now, we’d like Congress to ensure oversight of a fair and transparent BP claims process that expedites short and long term claims for impacted individuals and families. In the long term, we must strengthen regulation of the industry and re-work our nation’s energy policy to promote production of alternative, low-impact energy sources.”
As a regional organization working throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the Equity and Inclusion Campaign is committed to protecting vulnerable communities, advancing resilience and promoting a just recovery.
The Equity and Inclusion Campaign is a nonpartisan policy advocacy and public messaging campaign advocating for fulfillment of the federal commitment to confront persistent poverty and inequity during the Gulf Coast recovery and rebuilding process. The vision for the Equity and Inclusion Campaign is to establish sustainable Gulf Coast communities characterized by economic, social and environmental fairness. The Campaign is working to effect systemic change so that all people are included, valued and empowered.
