Asking for more: While the federal government has agreed to pay 90% of the response costs for Louisiana’s catastrophic mid-August flooding, the state hasn’t been able to get a similar deal for flood damage in north Louisiana in March. As The Associated Press reports, the state’s congressional delegation and Gov. John Bel Edwards have asked the Obama administration to drop Louisiana’s share of response costs from 25% to 10% for the north Louisiana flooding. The administration granted such a drop Thursday for last month’s south Louisiana flooding, reducing the price tag to local and state agencies for response costs. U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, a Republican who represents northeast Louisiana, says the March flood deserves the same cost-share reduction.
Clean up: The U.S. Coast Guard says more than 6,000 gallons of oily water have been recovered at the site of a spill near Louisiana’s Bay Long that has covered dozens of birds in crude. The Associated Press reports workers were repairing the damaged section of a pipeline that discharged an estimated 5,300 gallons of crude oil on Sept. 4. Crews also were trying to safely capture and treat roughly 200 oiled birds around the Cheniere Ronquille Barrier Island and East Grand Terre Island. At least 11 birds and one sea turtle had been collected as of Sunday. The spill was caused by a contractor working on an environmental restoration project funded after BP’s massive 2010 oil spill. Read the full story.
Shorter list: At least 135 oil and gas companies are still on the edge of bankruptcy, but that’s down from the more than 180 companies that were declared to be at risk of bankruptcy in January, FuelFix.com reports. The figures come from New York-based Debtwire Analytics, which studies debt and predicts pending bankruptcies and restructurings. Oil prices have recovered from lows of around $26 per barrel earlier this year and are now hovering at just under $50, which has helped some companies stabilize. Tim Hynes, head of research at Debtwire, says there will not be a ton of new companies in trouble even if oil stays where it is now. Most of the companies on Debtwire’s list have already cut jobs and closed plants. The industry has hit bottom, he says. Read the full story.
