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NEW ORLEANS, LA, April 19, 2012

Contact:
Dana Eness, The Urban Conservancy: (504) 232-7821
Nicky McHugh, Seedco Financial: (646) 502-3532


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Plaquemines Parish Businesses Hobbled By Spill Impact Two Years Later, Study Shows


NEW ORLEANS, LA, April 19, 2012 - Local businesses in Plaquemines Parish continue to suffer from the adverse effects of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and from the claims and contracting processes that followed it, according to a new report by New Orleans-based nonprofit The Urban Conservancy. “This study shows how willing and able Plaquemines Parish business owners are to step up in times of crisis,” says Byron Marinovich, owner of Black Velvet Oyster Bar & Grill in Buras. “But communities down here are still suffering today because local businesses were shut out of the recovery economy after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.”

“Independent businesses—groceries, hardware stores, retailers and restaurants— play a fundamental role in every community. Yet in Plaquemines’ post-disaster recovery they were bypassed. Services they could have provided were outsourced instead. We need to ensure systematic local business representation and integration into pre-disaster planning processes and post-disaster recovery projects,” says Dana Eness, Executive Director of The Urban Conservancy.

Between June and September 2011, The Urban Conservancy conducted face-to-face interviews with nearly 50 local business owners throughout the parish, asking open-ended questions about their experiences and opinions on the impact of the spill on local business sales and profitability; the integration of local businesses into the recovery economy; barriers to financial recovery; and accessibility to business assistance. The study was made possible with support from the Blue Moon Fund and the Committee for Plaquemines Recovery.

This event is being held in conjunction with Seedco Financial’s Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center. As part of the event on Friday, Seedco Financial Services is expected to release their related policy paper on the “Economic Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Small Commercial Fishing Businesses in Southeast Louisiana” as well as a comprehensive report titled “Alternative Business Models for the Louisiana Shrimp Fishery” which will reveal alternatives and enhancements to help the local shrimp industry overcome the catastrophes and difficult economic conditions of the past few years.

The Alternative Business Models report was made possible through the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation and the Blue Moon Fund.



Who: Dana Eness and Brad Dodson, The Urban Conservancy
Benny Puckett, Committee for Plaquemines Recovery
Richard Blink, Empire Environmental Solutions

What: Report release: My Heart Is Tied Up in This Place: Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Plaquemines Parish’s Local Businesses

Where: Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center
Regions Bank building, 8018 Hwy. 23, Belle Chasse

When: 9:30 am CDT, Friday, April 20, 2012


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The Urban Conservancy is a New Orleans-based nonprofit dedicated to research, education, and advocacy promoting the wise stewardship of the urban built environment and local economies. For more information, go to www.urbanconservancy.org.

About Seedco Financial
Seedco Financial Services, Inc. (Seedco Financial) is a national Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Seedco Financial seeks to stimulate economic development in communities that are underserved by traditional banking institutions by providing affordable capital, hands-on technical assistance and innovative solutions to small businesses, nonprofit organizations, CDFIs and real estate developers. Learn more about Seedco Financial at www.seedcofinancial.org