Berm, Bobby, Berm?

To some degree, Jindal's war pander has been useful in that it obligates an otherwise passive Obama to demonstrate action in order to counter the image of Jindal as a "warrior" or whatever. I think sometimes phony political bluster is good in this regard. What happens next, hopefully, is that the eventual action it inspires is more useful than the stunt that begins the confrontation.

The roots of the current showdown strech back to last month, when Jindal raised a fuss in order to get an expedited permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to construct sand berms off the coast of his state. The berms, he said, would protect the nation's second oldest wildlife refuge, Breton National, and Chandeleur Islands from the oil coating the Gulf. The FWS granted the permit on the condition that the state pipe in sand from a point further up the island chain, rather than harvesting it from the the shoreline of the Chandeleur Islands, a critical nesting area for birds like the brown pelican and an essential barrier to protect the refuge from storms.

The state agreed to those conditions, which are clearly outlined in the permit. But when construction began on June 13, the state said the piping wasn't ready. The federal government, in turn, agreed to allow the state remove sand from the prohibited area for about a week until the piping arrived. That grace period has expired, but Louisiana says the pipes still aren't ready. It wants to keep removing sand from the off-limits area, but this time the federal government put its foot down.

When I first read about the berm-building plan, I was pretty sure it was a hollow gesture but maybe something that could eventually steer the conversation toward the topic of rebuilding the Louisiana coastline in a more sensible fashion. It could still do that regardless of whether the particular program Jindal is pushing is itself a good idea.