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Gulf Guardian Award Winners 2004
Business Category - 3rd Place
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2004
SHELL PIPELINE WINS 3RD PLACE GULF GUARDIAN AWARD
STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The Gulf of Mexico Program today presented Shell Pipeline with a third place Gulf Guardian Award for 2004 in the Business Category for their efforts in preventing Louisiana wetlands loss and educating the public about the devastating effect of these massive losses. The award ceremony was held aboard the Creole Queen Riverboat in New Orleans, La.
Shell Pipeline Company transports crude oil through Louisiana’s sensitive coastal estuaries. The South Louisiana region continues to be devastated by coastal erosion, the highest amount of continual land loss in the United States. More than 35 square miles, or approximately one football field of land, is lost every 30 minutes. This wetlands loss devastates the environment, estuaries, wildlife, fisheries, residents, lifestyles, businesses, and economy. The land loss also uncovers, exposes, and compromises the integrity of Shell Pipeline’s infrastructure. These factors prompted the company to take a proactive stance to save South Louisiana’s productive wetlands.
By getting involved in the effort to save Louisiana wetlands, Shell Pipeline and its employees are protecting their communities, the environment, and the company’s infrastructure. During 2003, Shell Pipeline has been instrumental in bringing this issue and its importance to the forefront of the industry.
Employees have been specifically involved in Louisiana’s coastal land loss issue since 2001 and have been working with the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (NEP) since 1998. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the NEP, Shell Pipeline was the first company of any oil and gas companies to become actively involved in the issue, stating, “Shell Pipeline Company is a model for the entire hydrocarbon industry to follow.”
Shell funded the “Americas Wetland” coastal erosion initiative with a $3 million donation to the state of Louisiana. Its employees delivered the coastal Louisiana land loss crisis to a national and international audience through keynote presentations at the Clean Gulf Conference in Galveston, Texas, the International Oil Spill Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia and more than 20 events throughout Louisiana. “America’s Wetland” materials were distributed at each event.
Shell Pipeline has a Community Council that was developed to design and implement new processes and techniques to educate the community about pipelines and pipeline safety. Coastal erosion messages were incorporated into the education action plan objectives.
"The Gulf Guardian Award winners for 2004 are prime examples of collaborative environmental efforts leading to neighborhood solutions that transcend political boundaries,” said Benjamin Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water in Washington, D.C. “I commend all of the winners for their innovative partnerships, common sense ideas, and hard work. Their efforts are making a difference in protecting and restoring the Gulf of Mexico.”
The Gulf of Mexico Program initiated the Gulf Guardian awards in 2000 as a way to recognize and honor the businesses, community groups, individuals, and agencies that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf healthy, beautiful and productive. The Gulf of Mexico Program began in 1988 to protect, restore, and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. Award entries were received from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. A first, second, and third place award are given each year in six categories – individual, business, youth and education, nonprofit organizations, government, and partnership efforts.
Gulf of Mexico Program Office Director Bryon O. Griffith said, “This year’s Gulf Guardian Award winners encapsulate the essence of the Gulf of Mexico Program and our efforts to attain environmental solutions in concert with economic growth.” “Environmental successes are exponential when you bring the resources of many to the table, as the 2004 winners have so successfully demonstrated.”
For a list of all the Gulf Guardian Award winners for 2004, visit the Gulf of Mexico Program web site at https://www.epa.gov/gmpo and click on the Gulf Guardian Award button.
The Gulf of Mexico Program is underwritten by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is a non-regulatory, inclusive consortium of state and federal government agencies and representatives of the business and agricultural community, fishing industry, scientists, environmentalists, and community leaders from all five Gulf States. The Gulf Program seeks to improve the environmental health of the Gulf in concert with economic development.
Editor’s Note: For more information about the Gulf Guardian Awards and the Gulf of Mexico Program, call Terry Hines Smith at 228-688-1159. For more information about Shell Pipeline’s efforts to help Louisiana wetlands loss contact Ed Landgraf at 985-873-3400.
