Louisiana Legislature Approves 2017 Coastal Master Plan

The Louisiana legislature approved the 2017 Coastal Master Plan and now implementation can begin.

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Spokesperson Jimmy Frederick says thanks to bi-partisan support this plan was developed with the best science available to help preserve Louisiana’s coast.

“We now have a blueprint for coastal restoration and flood risk reduction, which gives us a real road map to make sure that we head in the right direction. Ensure that we can stop this land loss crisis as soon as we can.”

Frederick says between $640 to $800 million a year is expected to be spent on coastal restoration projects for the next four years, like marsh creation, hydrologic restoration and levees.

He says the cornerstone of the Master Plan is sediment diversion from the Mississippi River.

“We have to reintroduce the river to the starving wetlands, basically mimicking the way south Louisiana was built for thousands of years.”

Frederick says unfortunately, they will not be able to break ground on the sediment diversion project until 2022. But in the near future he says we will see the ramping up for coastal projects throughout the state.

“We also need to look at flood risk reductions, it’s not just rebuilding land but it’s also how do we protect our communities.”