Who Destroyed the Marsh? The Oil Industry's Role in Transforming the Environment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico since 1945

Referent/in: Tyler Priest, Houston

The State of Louisiana possesses the world's seventh largest wetlands and 40 percent of the coastal wetlands of the United States.  More than 25 percent of the petroleum consumed in the United States is transported from fields in the Gulf of Mexico through these fragile wetlands annually.  At the same time, Louisiana ranks second only to Alaska in U.S. fisheries production – about $300 million a year.  The Louisiana marsh also provides vital habitat for abundant wildlife, reduces the impact of storm surges on urban dwellings, serves as a filter for the Mississippi River's pollutants that might otherwise contaminate the region's water table, and is home to some of the most culturally diverse communities in the United States.

Tragically, these wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming rate.  Most of this loss occurred between the 1950s and late 1970s, during an era of intense petroleum production.  Thus, one of the suspected causes of this wetland loss has been the long-term direct and indirect impacts of oil-led development, namely the construction of pipeline, access, and navigation canals, along with subsurface sediment compaction, or subsidence, due to oil and gas extraction.  However, the “science” of wetlands loss is contested.  The conclusions drawn about the indirect and cumulative impacts of oil activities have a bearing on the design and cost of coastal restoration projects, and on who will be held accountable for them.  The debate has become intense, because the stakes are so high in preserving this fragile and critical ecosystem.  In some ways, the debate mirrors that over climate change:  how do we weigh and account for the human and industrial causes of environmental change in comparison to, or apart from, “natural” forces?  The Gulf Coast states and communities argue that the oil industry has had a huge impact on the loss of wetlands, whereas the industry argues that the impact has been minimal.
Historians have an important role to play in assessing what the impacts have been over time.  This paper surveys the literature on petroleum pipelines and their environmental impact in South Louisiana.  It will identify the data, weigh the arguments, and offer suggestions for how historians can contribute to the debate over “who destroyed the marsh”?