A prominent coastal advocacy group warned Tuesday against reducing the scale of Louisiana’s biggest ever coastal restoration project, the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, as negotiations dragged on over the unprecedented plan’s future.
The nearly $3 billion project broke ground in August 2023 after years of planning and scientific evaluation, but legal challenges and a change in approach by Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration have since left it in limbo. Only limited work is now being allowed at the site near Ironton on Plaquemines Parish’s west bank, and state and parish officials have been negotiating a way forward.
The diversion, never before attempted on such a scale, had long been held up by the state’s coastal agency as a vital component of its restoration strategy, particularly because of the way it would work with nature to restore lost wetlands in the heavily impacted Barataria Basin. It is being paid for with fines and settlement money related to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
But Plaquemines Parish has been firmly opposed, largely due to the effects on commercial fishing for shrimp and oysters. The influx of freshwater into the basin will kill off oyster reefs in the area and force commercial fishers to move farther out.
Coastal advocates and scientists backing the plan point out that the diversion would use the same forces that built Louisiana in the first place – sediment from the Mississippi River – to replenish dying wetlands. They also note that saltwater intrusion has only advanced that far inland because of the dramatic land loss that has occurred.
There have been concerns that the negotiations could lead to the scale of the project – along with its expected results -- being reduced at a time when Louisiana’s land loss crisis is worsening. The project is slated to funnel up to 75,000 cubic feet per second of water and sediment into the basin from the river, though that number would be seasonally adjusted depending on conditions.
Simone Maloz, campaign director for the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition, spoke of the long, intricate process that led to the diversion plan during an online press conference on coastal restoration projects more broadly on Tuesday. She spoke of the many public meetings and thousands of public comments considered, along with permits and approvals granted by trustees overseeing BP spill proceeds and the Army Corps of Engineers.
“We also understand what was considered as an alternative when that project was considered,” she said. “We know that they considered different alternatives and the 75,000 cfs diversion was selected for the benefits that it delivers to the Barataria Basin to mitigate for those injuries that occurred according to the spill.”
'Have to do it scientifically'
Gordon Dove, chair of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority board, said he could not speak in detail on the negotiations with Plaquemines Parish because of the pending legal case, but hoped outlines of a settlement proposal could be reached in another three weeks at the latest. The parish has issued a stop-work order over the project and a related lawsuit has been filed in state court.
He said the aim was to figure out a way forward that all sides could be happy with, and stressed that any changes to the diversion plan would meet scientific and engineering benchmarks.
“Everything that CPRA does, every decision we make, will be scientific, and it will consist of good, sound engineering practices,” said Dove, appointed chair after Landry took office. “Today you have to do it scientifically, because you cannot get a Corps of Engineers permit. You’ve got to get a Department of Natural Resources permit.”
But significant changes to the project could also trigger new approvals and permits from BP fund trustees and the Corps of Engineers, which could potentially set the project back years. Dove said that was partly why it was important to try to reach a settlement with the parish quickly to be able to move forward.
The state’s legal strategy shifted after Landry took office in January. Former Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration argued that the project only required a Corps of Engineers permit and not one from Plaquemines Parish. Landry’s administration has abandoned that contention.
Tuesday’s press conference by the coalition was aimed at highlighting 18 coastal restoration projects that it says the state should prioritize. It came up with that list by evaluating the 77 restoration, protection and risk reduction projects in the latest version of the state’s 50-year coastal master plan.
Those 18 projects, which include the Mid-Barataria Diversion, “provide the best return on investment in terms of land restored, communities protected and economic enhancements,” Maloz said.
Louisiana has lost around 2,000 square miles of land over the last century, and sea level rise is expected to worsen the problem in the decades ahead.
The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition includes the Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation and Pontchartrain Conservancy. It helped organize an open letter in May that warned of changes to Louisiana’s coastal restoration strategy under Landry’s administration.
The letter was signed by more than 200 business leaders, scientists, community leaders and activists.