Samuel Nunez: Comprehensive pipeline crossing legislation previously passed was also 

 meant to look into this, but funding of implementation of this program was vetoed. 



Walter Sikora: Because there are areas where the shoreline will retreat and others, such 

 as the Atchafalaya delta, where the shoreline will prograde, could we enter an 

 agreement with the Federal Government to fix the Federal-State boundary? 



Samuel Nunez: The courts have decreed that the boundary is ambulatory and subject to 

 judicial review, but I agree that it would be good to fix a boundary. 



Kai Mi(ft>oe: With a net land loss of 40 mi^/yr, the Federal Government has little 

 incentive to negotiate a fixed boundary. 



R. Eugene Turner: I am pleased by the approach of experimental backfilling canals which 

 Mr. Voisin described. 1 believe that generic investigations and projects on marsh and 

 canal management should be included in the coastal protection program Senator 

 Nunez described. 



Unidentified speaker: Based on John Day's comparisons of the effectiveness of various 

 approaches to slow land loss, should management focus only on canal impacts 

 because the effects of freshwater diversions are inconsequential? 



John Day: We can save more land by better regulating canals than can be gained by 

 Atchafalaya delta building or freshwater diversion. Canals are widespread whereas 

 controlled or natural diversions are site specific. If we do not address the issue of 

 canals we will not address the main cause of land loss, but all of these approaches 

 should be used in combination. 



Joan Phillips: Directional drilling can reduce the need for canals, however, industry 

 spokesmen indicate it is impractical or too expensive. The Coastal Management 

 Section does not have the expertise to evaluate this claim and reportedly cannot 

 solicit the advice of the Office of Conservation of the Department of Natural 

 Resources. If the Office of Conservation cannot advise the Coastal Management 

 Section on this matter, the Coastal Management Section should develop its own 

 expertise in this field. 



Michael Lyons: Generally a directional hole costs 50% more than a straight hole. 

 Straight holes can more effectively reach the several stratigraphic objectives of an 

 exploratory well. Directional drilling would clearly save marsh land, but would not 

 reduce the needed number of wells. Most offshore drilling is directional because of 

 the large investment of the platform from which a number of directional wells can 

 be drilled. 



Lirxla Deegan: Then the decision of whether to use directional drilling is based solely on 

 economics, but these economics exclude environmental costs. 



Kai Midboe: Can a distinction be made between those canals near the ocean and those 

 farther inland? 



R. Eugene Turner: The relationship between canal density and land loss is more severe 

 the closer to the coast and the newer the delta. 



242 



