Louisiana’s New Coastal Spending Plan Cuts Back on Restoration

Without Diversions, Spending Drops in FY27 Annual Plan and Southeast Louisiana Loses Major Protective Projects

The Landry Administration’s coastal spending plan for the next fiscal year is a major departure from prior plans, which included two land-building river reintroduction projects – Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton – as cornerstones.  

Now that the Administration has cancelled these projects, overall coastal spending has been sharply reduced year-over-year, and the future of southeast Louisiana is uncertain. 

Some of the challenges with the FY27 Annual Plan are that it:

• Overlooks Southeast Louisiana. Southeast Louisiana is facing one of the highest rates of land loss in the world, but this plan cuts restoration funding for the region by two-thirds, largely due to the cancelation of the river reintroduction projects.  
  The plan proposes new barrier islands and land bridges that could offer shorter-term habitat and storm protection. These types of projects are laboriously built with dredged sediment and are unlikely to provide lasting protection since they start eroding as soon as construction stops. River introduction projects, on the other hand, would continue to build land for decades. 
  We need a bold, long-term vision to ensure the area that received the most oil will receive the full benefits of the Deepwater Horizon restoration dollars.  
• Lacks transparency. CPRA could improve trust by sharing projections of how these new proposals will affect storm risk, increasing transparency around how projects are selected, sharing previous year budget-to-actuals, and continuously sharing estimated timelines for all projects. 

• Does not meet the moment. This funding reduction and focus shift is occurring as storms are intensifying, sea levels are rising, and the risks to communities are accelerating. This year’s plan includes more than 100 projects – many of which will help restore and protect our coast – but we need to continue the commitment to regional-scale restoration and river reconnection projects that will keep building land over time.  

• Does not make the best use of the Deepwater Horizon restoration dollars. This money won’t last forever; BP will be finished paying their penalties in 2031. Cancelling the sediment diversion projects midstream already wasted more than $700 million. Many of the dredging-based projects in this plan have an estimated lifespan of just two decades. Deepwater Horizon funds should be prioritized for durable, long-term coastal restoration, given that this level of funding is unlikely to ever be available again. 

• Is less aligned with the Coastal Master Plan. The Coastal Master Plan is widely considered one of the most forward-thinking, science driven, and publicly informed restoration plans of its kind. The state should set guidelines for how much of its annual spending will be devoted to smaller projects that were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny as those in the master plan. Louisiana simply does not have enough money, time, or resources to build every potentially worthy project.   

Bright spots

Several of Restore the Mississippi Delta’s priority projects received strong funding and are moving ahead. The East Orleans Landbridge, Chandeleur Island and Central Wetlands Hydrologic Restorations and work planned in the Calcasieu-Sabine area are all essential projects that will restore the coast. The River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp will re-connect the Mississippi River, along with its freshwater and sediment, to a critical part of coastal Louisiana, helping wildlife and nearby communities. 

What You Can Do

Send a comment to CPRA by 2/17. Let them know you support a transparent annual plan that invests Deepwater Horizon dollars into sustainable, long-term ecosystem restoration for Southeast Louisiana and the entire Louisiana coast.   

What’s Next

The CPRA Board will vote on the plan in March, and the Legislature will vote to approve in by June.