Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Nov. 5, 2015
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$15 million from BP settlement goes to Jefferson coastal work By Diana Samuels, The Times-Picayune. Nov. 4, 2015. “Jefferson Parish’s coastal communities will get at least $15 million — and possibly as much as $60 million — for flood protection and coastal restoration. Breaking a months-long stalemate, the Parish Council voted unanimously Wednesday (Nov. 4) to divide about $35 million in BP settlement money it received for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil disaster…” (read more). Levee taxes …
Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Nov. 4, 2015
Mississippi’s Gold Dust: Can Sediment Save Louisiana’s Disappearing Coastline? By Richard Grant, Al Jazeera America. Nov. 1, 2015. “A hulking old engineering boat moves slowly up the mile-wide Mississippi River. The Dredge Jadwin operates like a gigantic vacuum cleaner, sucking up sediment from the riverbed and spewing it out to the side through a long pipe. “For us, sediment it’s basically a problem,” says Randy Stockton, master of the Jadwin, built in 1933. “It clogs up the shipping channel. It …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 30, 2015
Land-building work in coastal Jefferson Parish touted in new video By Andrea Shaw, The Times-Picayune. October 29, 2015 “A pipeline pumping Mississippi River sediment 12 miles between Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes is building land along the coast to protect southeast Louisiana, officials say. The results are the subject of a new video that officials hope will help win a $110 million federal grant for the next phase of the project.” (Read More) Jefferson’s BP settlement should go to levee …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 29, 2015
Fisherman disagree on whether Mississippi River diversions will improve coastal life in Louisiana By Amy Wold, The Advocate. October 27, 2015 “Capt. Ryan Lambert, of Cajun Fishing Adventures, said existing diversions off the river offer some of the best fishing in Louisiana and are proven to build land even when the water flow is small. It’s very hard for me to sit back and listen to someone say the Mississippi River is poison,” Lambert said. “I work in the diversions …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 27, 2015
Feds appeal $3 billion MR-GO restoration ruling against the Army Corps of Engineers By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. October 26, 2015 “The U.S. Justice Department on Monday appealed a New Orleans federal judge’s decision that the Army Corps of Engineers must pay the full $3 billion cost of restoring wetlands destroyed by the agency’s improper construction and maintenance of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet shipping shortcut.” (Read More) A key coastal restoration vote Commentary, Gambit. October 27, 2015 “As the …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 23, 2015
Coastal update a good tool for candidates *features Restore or Retreat Editorial, Houma Courier. October 22, 2015 “If there is one overriding issue that affects nearly every other here in south Louisiana, it is coastal restoration. Coastal restoration plays a role in everything from economic development to flood risk to building codes.So if there is one topic that should be front and center for public officials and those who wish to be public officials, that is it.” (Read More) …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 22, 2015
Compromise struck on La. 1 elevation project funding; showdown vote on coastal restoration spending avoided *features Steve Cochran, EDF & MRD statement By Amy Wold, The Advocate. October 21, 2015 “The resolution presented today is an example of diverse coastal interests working together cooperatively on practical solutions that can help ensure a viable future for our delta and other vital coastal areas, our communities, and the economic activities that serve the state and nation,” according to a joint statement from …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 19, 2015
Candidates for governor, treasurer oppose move to divert coastal restoration funds to cover La. 1 construction costs *features MRD By Amy Wold, The Advocate. October 16, 2015 “Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to use excess Deepwater Horizon settlement money to construct an elevated section of La. 1 in southern Lafourche Parish is opposed by all four candidates seeking to take over his job.” (Read More) Details of BP settlement show oil spill caused trillions of marine wildlife deaths By Bob Marshall, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 16, 2015
Stop Gov. Jindal from spending BP fines on a bridge: A letter to the editor *features CRCL Board Chairs, Pierre Conner & Wally Gundlach By Letters to the Editor, The Times-Picayune. October 15, 2015 “We are writing to oppose Gov. Bobby Jindal’s attempt to back-peddle on his commitment to preserve coastal funds for coastal restoration by funding a highway project using Restore Act funds. As lifelong outdoorsmen with deep roots across Louisiana, we understand the urgency of coastal restoration. We …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 14, 2015
Next governor will play crucial role in future of coast *features David Muth, NWF By AP, The Times-Picayune. October 14, 2015 “The next governor will play a crucial role in Louisiana’s coastal crisis — either by aggressively working to save the coast or missing a prime opportunity to stop the state from slipping further into the Gulf of Mexico.” (Read More) Bayou Lafourche dredging to increase water flow progresses *features Simone Maloz, ROR By Meredith Burns, Houma Courier. October 13, …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 13, 2015
Sea to swallow New Orleans eventually regardless of carbon limits, scientists say By Ben Meyers, The Times-Picayune. October 12, 2015 “The nonpartisan climate science research organization has published an interactive map that zeroes in on any location in the United States, with one panel showing effects of “unchecked pollution” and another showing the results of “extreme carbon cuts.” In the latter scenario, a narrow strip of land along the Mississippi River will survive. New Orleans is completely inundated in the …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 12, 2015
Five conservation groups take aim at Bobby Jindal’s plan to elevate Louisiana 1 *Features MRD statement & Steve Cochran, MRD By Kevin Litten, The Times-Picayune. October 9, 2015 “Five conservation groups are sponsoring a print and online advertising campaign across south Louisiana that seeks to rally opposition to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to use coastal restoration money to elevate Louisiana 1.” (Read More) State treasurer proposes financing for La. 1 elevation *Features MRD statement & Steve Cochran, MRD By Meredith …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 9, 2015
2 Louisiana gubernatorial candidates oppose using BP money on roadway project By Kevin Litten, The Times-Picayune. October 8, 2015 “Two of the four major gubernatorial candidates are urging the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority board to reject Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to use BP fines from the Gulf oil spill to build a roadway near Port Fourchon.” (Read More)
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 8, 2015
Coastal allies clash over plans to dip into BP fine money for a bridge *features David Muth, NWF By John Snell, WVUE. October 7, 2015 “We need to concentrate on what we as a state and a people and as a government have identified as our highest priority, which is coastal protection and restoration,” said David Muth, Director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Restoration Program. Muth concedes Highway 1, like many other infrastructure projects, is a critical need, but …
Latest Mississippi River Delta News: October 7, 2015
BP Comes to Record $20.8 Billion Settlement Agreement Over Gulf Oil Spill *features MRD statement By Katie Valentine, Think Progress. October 6, 2015 “The oil disaster damaged hundreds of miles of shoreline (and) killed more than 1 million birds, mammals and other wildlife — and we will not know the full environmental effects of the spill for decades to come,” the Audubon Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund, and other groups said in a joint statement. “The (assessment) process will help …