Friday, Aug. 5
August 5, 2011
Laf. detention center could be refurbished
August 9, 2011
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will hold three meetings in the Tri-parish area beginning Tuesday, Aug. 9, as the department seeks input on Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan.
The master plan aims to coordinate coastal restoration and protection plans in an effort to sustain Louisiana’s coastline. The CPRA said it will be developing the draft plan over the next few months and will present it to the state Legislature next spring.
“I know, because I attend a lot of meetings, you hear this over and over again: ‘This is an important public meeting. This is an important public meeting.’ I mean it. We’re serious this time. This is really the, the important meeting to be a part of,” said Simone Maloz, executive director of Restore or Retreat, a coastal restoration and protection advocacy organization.
The public outreach began last Thursday in St. Bernard Parish. In total, nine community meetings will be held throughout the region.
The Tri-parish meeting locations and times are as follows:
• Larose Civic Center, 307 East 5th St., Larose; open house at 5 p.m., meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
• Ward 7 Community Center, 5006 La. Highway 56, Chauvin; open house at 6 p.m., meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 10
• Morgan City Auditorium, 728 Myrtle St., Morgan City: open house at 5 p.m., meeting at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 11
The groundwork for the master plan was conceived after the hurricanes of 2007, when the state decided to merge coastal restoration and protection.
The CPRA will present the plan for public review in January before its submission to the state’s lawmakers, Maloz said.
“This is a more complex document than the first conceptual document,” Maloz said at Monday’s Bayou Industrial Group luncheon. “There are over 400 restoration projects, all along the coast, that have gone into the planning process, how it will be prioritized, what areas will receive projects and funding first. This is a very important project.”
More than 30 federal, state, academic, community, industrial and non-governmental organizations are included on the project’s development team.
The CPRA has said the 2007 master plan will be used as a foundation for the updated version.
Simone Maloz, executive director of the coastal advocacy group Restore or Retreat, addresses the Bayou Industrial Group at its August luncheon. Maloz, who was joined by Archie Chiasson (far left) and Nicholas Matherne (middle), urged those in attendance to submit public comments for Louisiana’s 2012 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. Also pictured is Port Fourchon Executive Director Chet Chiasson. ERIC BESSON
