Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion — What you Need to Know Now and Why

08.22.2024 | In Sediment Diversions

Restore the Mississippi River Delta is concerned about the state of Louisiana’s rapidly disappearing coast, and we know you are, too. We want to keep you informed of the most critical issues currently facing our coast.

This post marks the third in a series expressing our concerns about recent shifts in our state’s successful and popular coastal program, including the progress of implementation of key projects in our science-based Coastal Master Plan.

Recently, the Mid Barataria Sediment Diversion, a cornerstone project of every Louisiana Coastal Master Plan since 2007, has been in the news again—and not for its forward progress. We aim to provide you with the most up-to-date information and resources, along with an opportunity to take action and demonstrate your support.

One Year Anniversary of Ground-Breaking Ceremony

This month marked the one-year anniversary of the celebratory groundbreaking for the largest coastal restoration project in state history, the Mid Barataria Sediment Diversion (MBSD). Despite the many milestones, the countless community meetings, the overwhelming public support, and the extensive science, research, and modeling that preceded that moment, the nation’s largest environmental restoration project has barely moved forward since construction began in the summer of 2023.

As detailed below, the Governor’s Coastal Office and Plaquemines Parish Government (PPG) officials are involved in private negotiations that have excluded valuable stakeholder input and jeopardize the efficient and timely construction of the diversion, putting the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities at risk.

In this post we will discuss the following important updates on Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion (MBSD):

Positive Economic Impact – thousands of jobs, a billion $ in new wages

In addition to the land-building and ecosystem-sustaining benefits of MBSD, the sheer size of the project will also bring considerable economic benefits to Plaquemines Parish and the surrounding region. According to a new economic impact study by Dr. Loren Scott and Associates, the $1.6 billion in construction activities associated with the project will support an annual average of 540 jobs per year in Plaquemines over the five years of construction and an average of 3,095 total jobs regionally. For five years in a row, government revenue for Plaquemines will increase as construction activities from this single project could generate an entire year’s worth of sales tax collections. And workers around the entire region will see an extra $1 billion contributed to wages.

The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is the single largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of the U.S. This project will build more wetlands than any other individual restoration project in the world, and will bring a whopping number of new earnings, jobs and other revenue to coastal Louisiana. It is exactly the scale of project we need to address the very serious challenges we face.

Disappointing Project Delays

Of course, to reap those benefits, the project must be built. Earlier this year, construction halted when Plaquemines Parish Government issued a stop-work order, which the state agreed to comply with. During the 2024 legislative session, committee testimony revealed that Louisiana could be on the hook for $1 billion if this project does not proceed as planned. Together, PPG and state coastal officials filed a request to suspend the case on MBSD, and in June, it was announced that work would resume following the agreement between the parish and the state. This allowed for “early work” such as site preparation to occur and helped the state to avoid daily costs—roughly $150,000 a day—in fees for idling the contractor’s progress.

However, the absence of updates on the project’s progress since June is not a sign of a return to normalcy. Instead, the Governor’s Coastal Office and Plaquemines Parish Government have been working under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) on a “compromise” project that could conflict with the existing permits and spending plans that were developed based on thousands of public comments during the six year-plus study period.

The lack of transparency surrounding a potentially substantial alteration to a public project aimed at protecting and restoring our coastal ecosystems, communities, and economies is not only disrespectful to the numerous stakeholders who have provided input on this project, but it also erodes the trust and integrity of Louisiana’s world-renowned coastal program.

Concerning Testimony

On August 12, MBSD was discussed in a Joint Transportation Committee meeting of the Louisiana Legislature. Representing the Governor’s Coastal Office and CPRA Board, Chairman Gordon Dove appeared to provide an update on the construction and implementation status of the MBSD, a follow-up discussion from questions that originated in committee meetings during the regular legislative session in the spring. After detailing several possible negative impacts of the project while failing to review project benefits, drawing unfounded connections to the Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone”, making questionable claims about project operations, and downplaying the significance of the resumed construction activities at the project site, the committee and the public were left with more questions than answers about the status of the state’s largest coastal project.

Details provided in media coverage of the hearing suggested the proposed “compromise” between the state and Plaquemines Parish Government could involve a smaller flow, fewer gates, and a much more prolonged construction window, but could not be detailed further, citing a non-disclosure agreement signed between state and parish employees. According to testimony, the state will detail its plan in the next “30 to 45 days” from the August 12th committee meeting to the Natural Resources Damages Trustee Implementation Group, the entity with the fiduciary responsibility for ensuring Louisiana is made whole from the injuries caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

In the meantime, coastal residents, businesses, and the dozen-plus contractors and hundreds of employees hired to build Mid-Barataria so far must wait to see if decades of study, public outreach, legislative approvals, state and federal permits, and a fully executed, $2.9 billion contract, which includes critical community mitigation measures, will be abandoned.

Your voice matters.

Contact info@mississippiriverdelta.org to learn more about how you can help. This is a critical moment for our coast.

 

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