The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has released its Fiscal Year 2021 annual plan. The plan includes an investment of $958 million into the state’s coast. CPRA Executive Director Bren Haase says various factors are in place to make this the largest spending plan in the history of the coastal program.
“The political will, the science and know-how, the technology and, of course, the funding is there now. Much of that is a result of the oil spill of 2010. The dollars associated with that really is starting to go to the state.”
The plan is scheduled to go into effect on July 1st of 2020. $718 million will be allocated toward construction. Haase says sixteen dredging projects are slated to be part of that construction.
“You’re looking at about 73 million cubic yards of sediment to be dredged. All of that will be used to create wetlands, barrier islands, coastal wetlands, ridges and so forth. If you do the math there, that’s about 20 square miles of new land.”
Haase says the projected new land is expected to outpace the average annual rate of land loss.
“Of course, one good hurricane coming through could change that average and change that land loss rate pretty drastically, but we’re gaining ground so that’s good news for the state of Louisiana.”