Latest Mississippi River Delta News: May 18, 2015

Pipeline moves Mississippi River sand to create 12-mile land bridge across three parishes
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. May 15, 2015
“The flag-planting occurred about the eight-mile point in the project that’s building a ridge and marsh platform out of sand dredged from the Mississippi River near the Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery south of Belle Chasse and pumped inland. For the past five years, segments of the project have deposited the ridge and marsh, as much as 3 1/2 feet above sea level, across Plaquemines Parish and into Jefferson Parish.” (Read More)

Coastal project could bring relief to one of La.’s most flood-prone communities
By John Snell, WVUE. May 15, 2015
“A South Louisiana community with a chronic flooding problem stands to get a little extra protection, thanks to a long-distance delivery. A $66.1 million state and federal project under construction south of Lafitte aims to build or sustain 415 acres of wetlands and begin restoration of the Barataria Landbridge.” (Read More)

Senator David Vitter gives U.S. Army Corps of Engineers an ultimatum: run flood-control structures in New Orleans with or without money
By Jeff Adelson, The Advocate. May 17, 2015
“This could raise the stakes in a long-running argument among the Corps, the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection authorities over which of them is responsible for operating three key pieces of the system of levees, floodwalls and pumps in the New Orleans area and who is on the hook for those costs.” (Read More)

If oil industry is serious, it will help protect St. Charles Parish from rising water: John Barry
By John Barry, The Times-Picayune. May 17, 2015
“St. Charles wants to build a $300 million levee to protect its west bank. The threat to this area has increased enormously because of the tremendous land loss in the Barataria Basin, land that once naturally protected the area against hurricane storm surge. And it is in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins where oil and gas industry activities have had more destructive impact than anywhere else in the state.” (Read More)

US agencies say decade-old Gulf oil leak could persist 100 years or more if unchecked
By Eric Tucker & Michael Kunzelman, US News. May 16, 2015
“For more than a decade, oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico where a hurricane toppled a drilling company’s platform off the coast of Louisiana. Now the federal government is warning that the leak could last another century or more if left unchecked.” (Read More)

Terrebone Parish notes progress on levee system
By AP, New Orleans City Business. May 15, 2015
“Terrebonne Parish officials praised the progress being made on the Morganza-to-the-Gulf levee system.
Councilman John Navy says it’s important that the public knows why they’re continuing to fight for money from our state and federal delegation to continue the Morganza-to-the-Gulf project.” (Read More)