Attached are comments, prepared jointly by the listed organizations, on the Environment Section of the Coastal Recovery Commission’s charge from Governor Riley to create a blueprint for coastal resiliency. In the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Alabamians have a unique opportunity to develop and enact significant, generational, transformative changes in the stewardship of our vital coastal resources.  Our recommendations are summarized here with the full report attached below.

Recommendations

1. The CRC should not attempt to quantify environmental impacts in this report, but work to address potential impacts based on the best available science and data.

2. Utilize a prioritization framework from which to make funding decisions to ensure that projects with the most substantive environmental benefit are funded first.

3. We recommend that those projects such as berms, seawalls and elevated roads that will potentially alter hydrology or other ecological processes be carefully considered and that the environmental impacts be given sufficient weight.

4. The Commission should recommend the disposal of dredged material from Mobile Pass to a location where the material will be able to reenter the littoral system so that we are not forced to rely only on our ability to bring sand in from other locations, which is expensive and an ongoing cost.

5. Environmental Restoration is the key to economic recovery and actual restoration projects and activities are not clearly defined in the 5 categories. We recommend that bullet number one be changed to read as follows: “Restore barrier islands, beaches and waterways throughout Coastal Alabama”.

Alabama Coastal Foundation Mobile Baykeeper

Conservation Alabama Cahaba Riverkeeper

Fowl River Chapter of Mobile County Wildlife 

   Mobile Baykeeper     Conservation Association

Black Warrior Riverkeeper Fairhope Point Clear Association for 

Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper     Responsible Development

Alabama Rivers Alliance         Oil Recovery Incorporated

Waterkeeper Alliance Coastal Conservation Association of Alabama