Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Dec. 2, 2013

12.02.2013 | In Latest News, Uncategorized

Coastal chief sparks rumors of new lawsuit over wetlands
By Kelly Connelly, The Houma Courier (Houma, La.). Nov. 30, 2013.
“A recent change in rhetoric by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority chairman has sparked speculation that a new lawsuit assigning blame for wetlands loss could be filed by the state against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers…” (read more)

Corps awards $11.6 million contract for Plaquemines floodwall raising in Buras
By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Nov. 27, 2013.
“The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $11.6 million contract to remove a damaged floodwall and raise portions of the Mississippi River levee in Buras by about 2 feet, the agency announced…” (read more)

La. joins lawsuit to block flood insurance cost hikes
By Xerxes Wilson, The Houma Courier (Houma, La.). Nov. 28, 2013.
“Louisiana is supporting Mississippi in its legal effort to block flood insurance rate increases tied to new federal reforms. State Insurance Commissioner James Donelon filed a 27-page friend of the court brief Nov. 18 in support of Mississippi’s lawsuit, pending in the U.S. District Court of Southern Mississippi in Jackson…” (read more)

Defendants in BP oil spill say Justice Department scapegoating them
By Richard Thompson and Claire Galofaro, The Advocate (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 2, 2013.
“Kurt Mix did not cause the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. He cannot be blamed for the explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon, the corporate recklessness that created it, or the 11 lives lost and 4.2 million barrels of oil poured into the sea…” (read more)

Groups align to deepen Mississippi River
By The Advocate (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 1, 2013.
“Officials with the World Trade Center Mississippi River Alliance and the Big River Coalition will work together on issues that include an increase in the depth of the lower Mississippi River…” (read more)

2013 hurricane season ends
By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). Dec. 1, 2013.
“The 2013 hurricane season officially closes Saturday, allowing Louisiana to escape with little more than a few rain showers from Tropical Storm Karen, the one storm that even threatened the state…” (read more)

Coastal La. ports to present organized front next session
By Jeremy Alford, The Houma Courier (Houma, La.). Nov. 27, 2013.
“A new advisory board that brings together representatives from south Louisiana’s ports met for the first time last week to catalog their similar challenges in preparation for next year’s legislative session…” (read more)

New indicators helpful in predicting surge levels
By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). Dec. 1, 2013.
“Hurricane Katrina didn’t follow the rules. Neither did hurricanes Ike or Isaac. These storms all produced storm surge much larger than could be accounted for by the wind speeds the storms maintained at landfall…” (read more)

Tulane center: From Mardi Gras to coastal research
By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). Dec. 2, 2013.
“Mardi Gras floats eventually will be replaced with coastal science research as plans for a new Tulane University riverfront campus in New Orleans move forward…” (read more)

Across south Louisiana, feral hogs uproot sugar cane, rice fields — and levees
By Andrea Shaw, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Nov. 27, 2013.
“Across Louisiana, human beings aren’t the only ones who live to eat. Feral hogs are proving to be stiff competition, as they snack on sugar cane in Lafourche and St. Mary parishes and devour the rice fields of Acadia Parish…” (read more)