Every five years, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority releases its master plan to help restore Louisiana‘s disappearing coast.
On January 3, 2017, the organization released its 2017 master plan: the Comprehensive Plan Update to guide some $3 billion in investments to improve the resources and economies of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“It really entails looking across the coast at how do we select the best projects that build and sustain the most land and reduce risk to our coastal communities,” said Natalie Peyronnin, director of science policy for the environmental defense fund.
With the help of these projects, Louisiana is expected to look very different in the next 50 years. “I think we will be able to sustain our kind of way of life, our culture, our wetlands, and our ties to those wetlands as well as the economics that they bring,” said Peyronnin.
The Comprehensive Plan Update builds on progress the Restoration Council has made since its establishment, including prioritizing over $183 million in restoration investments announced in December 2015.
The CPRA is established as the single state entity with authority to articulate a clear statement of priorities and to focus development and implementation efforts to achieve comprehensive coastal protection for Louisiana.
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s mandate is to develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration Master Plan.
For the first time in Louisiana’s history, this single state authority is integrating coastal restoration and hurricane protection by marshaling the expertise and resources of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation and Development and other state agencies, to speak with one clear voice for the future of Louisiana’s coast.
Working with federal, state and local political subdivisions, including levee districts, the CPRA is working to establish a safe and sustainable coast that will protect our communities, the nation’s critical energy infrastructure and our bountiful natural resources for generations to come.
Image courtesy Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
See full KPLC article and news video by Maranda Whittington.