1/ A thread on our latest report. Last year we stumbled upon a mystery. We discovered that not a single Federal or State agency was tracking structures in Louisiana State Waters. Indeed, the freshest count was over 20 years-old.

Reminder: we used to have these things called dredgers that could turn water into land. Most nations still do, China’s building new islands with theirs. We put the Army in charge of ours & they’d rather funnel the money to defense primes to keep the forever-war machine humming.

I don't think people truly understand how outsourcing, leaner operations, and automation is coming for all of the jobs. The question for me is whether that is in the interest of the United States, strong families, and our national security.

Do you know what''s spookier than grown adults pretending to be children indefinitely? (which I agree is indeed weird). Grown adults abandoning a whole fleet of trash in American sovereign waters indefinitely. Spooooooky https://t.co/5NQWmKOoFu

So @SecArmy when are we gonna recapitalize the Army Corps of Engineers dredging fleet so we can unlock more of this, supercharge reshoring efforts and get more truck off our crowded highways?

https://t.co/h1fzsEreMP

Which is why we've put together a legislative vision for what that plan will look like: https://t.co/5NQWmKNQPW

"Considering the perils from all the leftover oil-production equipment, all these steps merit considerable legislative energy." Great staff editorial from @NOLAnews https://t.co/HrK5YS1pxp

Another great write-up on our latest report:

There are hundreds of decaying, unused oil and gas platforms in Louisiana waters, but the state doesn't track them, according to a new report from @True_Transition

There is new leadership at @LDNR and we are confident that leadership within @LouisianaHouse @louisianasenate @LAGovJeffLandry can cut through the red tape and get to work cleaning up the abundance of garbage on our coast.

23/ There is a solution however. Included in our report is a simple proposal and a plan to begin removing these structures, putting Louisiana firms and workers on the water. It took decades and thousands of workers to drill these fields and build these structures.

23/ But there’s work on Louisiana’s coast right now. The job isn’t finished, and Louisiana’s leaders have an opportunity and obligation to see that it’s done.

22/ But between the decline in production and the rise of advanced drilling technology, utilization of this fleet has plummeted in the last decade. Vessels are dry docked in Larose and crews are finding work elsewhere and outside of the industry.

These same firms and workforces are the very ones that installed and powered Louisiana’s and Federal OCS offshore oil fields.

21/ There is a great deal of public debate appropriately centered upon the decline of American shipbuilding. Shipbuilding requires a civilian function to stay relevant and technologically competitive.

20/ Louisiana also needs land, more specifically, it needs high quality sediment for beach and dune barrier habitat projects. But rusting platforms, unplugged wells, and pipelines are in the way and add to the costs of these projects.

19/ Imagine instead that the East Timbalier project began with removing the “dead iron” or a more inland project begins with removal of iron, plugging of wells, & the backfilling of navigation canals, then the coastal restoration project can have a better guarantee of success.

In 2020, Louisiana’s CPRA spent more than $20 million attempting to restore and save East Timbalier Island which protected more than 700-plus oil wells in Terrebonne and Timbalier bays from waves and storms. The state agency’s attempts were foiled by a nest of pipelines & wells.

18/ Oil and gas facilities that are no longer in use are in the way of coastal restoration projects and access to sand resources.

Offshore facilities are made from high-strength low-alloy structural steels, and have even higher per ton scrap values. The American steel recycling industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and Louisiana companies are already part of this supply chain.