The Coastal Protection and Restoration Board, upon the recommendation of the CPRA implementation agency, is required by a 2009 Louisiana law to produce a plan annually projecting anticipated revenues, expenditures, and restoration and protection project priorities for three fiscal years. (The State’s fiscal calendar runs from July 1 to June 30.)
Known as the Annual Plan, the document includes an inventory, or list, of the restoration and protection projects that are scheduled to receive funding in the coming fiscal year. The annual plan includes projects in the process of planning, engineering, construction, and permitting, including project schedules, funding sources, and budgets. Each year’s Annual Plan includes this information for the coming three fiscal years. In the Annual Plan, you can also find a list of current CPRA board members, highlights of certain projects, and breakdowns in spending.
It is essential to note that the plan is only an authorization or approval to spend money on projects outlined but is not an actual appropriation (or commitment) of those dollars.
The plan is typically released at the beginning of the calendar year, presented to the CPRA Board in draft form, then is vetted through public meetings. The CPRA board then approves and sends the revised version to the Louisiana Legislature in its regular spring session, where it receives approval from four committees: House and Senate Natural Resources and House and Senate Transportation. The Annual Plan then receives an up or down vote from each chamber’s floor. Based on the approval process set out in law, the Annual Plan is not subject to line-item changes, meaning lawmakers cannot strike any one particular project out of the plan or even add a project without abiding by a formal process, and because it is presented as a resolution the Governor does not have a role in its approval or rejection.
Geography: 20 coastal parishes from the Texas to Mississippi borders
State Entities Involved: The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, House and Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committees, Full Legislature
Points of Contact
CPRA and Governor’s Office
- Joe Wyble, Project Management Administrator, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, joe.wyble@la.gov
MRD Contact
- Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation, Gulf Program, Director, moorea@nwf.org