Louisiana’s Coast and Communities Will Benefit from SHORRE Act Provisions
Media Statement of Simone Maloz, Campaign Director, Restore the Mississippi River Delta
Today, Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), and Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) introduced the Shoreline Health Oversight, Restoration, Resilience, and Enhancement (SHORRE Act), a bipartisan bill to address coastal and riverine impacts of climate change in the United States. In response, Restore the Mississippi River Delta Campaign Director Simone Maloz issued the following statement:
“Our nation desperately needs to fortify our natural protections from storm surge and sea level rise, which we have already begun here in Louisiana with the implementation of our science-based Coastal Master Plan. Provisions in the SHORRE Act will allow Louisiana to continue to advance critical storm protection and ecosystem restoration priorities for our vulnerable coastal communities and wildlife, while also better enabling others across the nation to follow suit. We thank members of Congress for prioritizing climate solutions through this effort, and we look forward to working with both sides of Congress to ensure we can meet the needs of our coastal communities.”
Provisions in the bill provide essential support to Louisiana coastal communities, wildlife and ecosystems, such as:
- Clarifies the federal cost-share commitment to the long-needed Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) Ecosystem Restoration Plan. This will result in crucial restoration projects to revitalize marsh ecosystems that were degraded by the channel and protect vulnerable communities that were gravely impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
- Clarifies the federal cost-share commitment for the Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study, authorized at $25 million, should be at full federal expense. This critical provision will ensure that the study is completed as soon as possible, examining opportunities for the integration of flood management, navigation and ecosystem strategies in a vulnerable region.
- Provides additional flexibility in repayment options for the Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) for the City of New Orleans and the surrounding region, allowing Louisiana to undertake and be credited for “in-kind” additive coastal climate adaptation efforts.
- Prioritizes projects in the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ existing river flood mitigation and restoration authority, which will support mitigation and combat climate change impacts to Louisiana’s coast.
- Enables enhanced beneficial use of sediment to construct natural and nature-based resilience features around Port Fourchon, increasing resilience and decreasing impacts from future storm events.
- Elevates and incentivizes nature-based solutions as a key strategy to improve community resilience.
Media Contact:
Kendra Smith-Parks, Gambel Communications, 813.404.9893, kendra@gambelpr.com
Restore the Mississippi River Delta
Restore the Mississippi River Delta is working to secure a just, climate-resilient coast where people and nature thrive. As our region faces the crisis of land loss and climate change, we seek to advance an equitable, safer and flourishing coast for Louisiana’s communities, ecosystems and economy. Learn more at MississippiRiverDelta.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.