Concerts
March 1, 2007March 9
March 5, 2007Over 100 people turned out Monday at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center to offer input on the state’s final draft for restoring Louisiana’s coast.
Before hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the region, the state considered flood and hurricane protection and coastal restoration as separate problems. However, in the wake of the 2005 storm season the state was forced to reconsider its priorities. As a result, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) was created.
After nearly two years of studying the issues and seeking input from a varying range of entities, the state’s draft report has been released.
State officials are now traveling the area seeking public comment on the plan.
The report endorses construction of the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection system, and calls for the levee system extending from Larose to Golden Meadow to be raised to the “100-year protection” level. It also supports the area’s third priority: Construction of an elevated highway leading to Port Fourchon.
Monies generated from offshore drilling revenue and the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP)nand possibly money received from a lawsuit settlement with tobacco companiesnwill pay the state’s portion of these projects, said Scott Angelle, Louisiana Secretary of Natural Resources.
Although Louisiana is not slated to receive substantial funds from offshore drilling until 2017, Angelle said the CIAP money should largely cover the state’s share of the work in the interim.
Congress OK’d the CIAP in 2005 to help oil-producing states mitigate the impact of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and drilling activities.
Louisiana is expected to receive up to $523 million between 2007 and 2010. The money will be shared between the state, which will receive 65 percent, and 19 coastal parishes, which will get 35 percent.
To date, the state has committed almost $40 million to elevating La. 1 between Golden Meadow and Port Fourchon.
An additional $43 million in CIAP dollars is expected to go toward building a lock on the Houma Navigation Canal.
The decision to only raise South Lafourche levees to 16 feet raised questions for former state representative and current levee district member Richard “Dick” Guidry.
“Why should we settle for a 100-year protection level height for our levee system, which only equates to about 16 feet, when an elevated highway is being built that will be some 22 feet above sea level? The elevated highway won’t do any good if you can’t get to it.”
Guidry suggested the levee system be raised to the same level to ensure accessibility via the elevated highway to the port.
He also stressed funds are needed to build a lock just north of the Leon Theriot floodgates below Golden Meadow. A lock would allow the free flow of marine traffic in emergency situations, but would not compromise flood protection for nearby residents, Guidry said.
Chauvin resident Evelyn Lirette issued a passionate plea for officials to “quit studying and start working.” Lirette’s home has flood several times.
“We need Morganza now,” she said. “I know I only own a little piece of property 180 feet wide, but I have been working since I was 12 years old for what I own and I don’t want to lose it.”
Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph echored Lirette’s plea, asking state officials to consider lowering the Morganza project using the Pointe Aux Chenes-to-Golden Meadow alignment.
The more southernly alignment should allow for greater marsh restoration and creation, she said, and avoid a “funnel effect” between Morganza and the South Lafourche levee system.
Houma attorney Danny Walker noted during Monday’s session that earlier in the day U.S. senators had committed to moving the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) legislation, of which authorization for the Morganza project is a key component, to a committee vote by the end of March. “That is very good news,” he acknowledged.
Comments on the state plan are being accepted through April 2. Public input may be submitted online at www.louisianacoastalplanning.org or mailed to CPRA Integrated Planning Team, P.O. Box 94396, Baton Rouge, LA 70804.
The state Legislature is expected to vote on a final version of the plan at the end of April.
