Tag: louisiana

Federal Funding for Louisiana’s “Hurricane Highway” Likely on the Way

Louisiana’s “Hurricane Highway” might finally be next in line to receive federal funds to repair a collection of widespread ecological damage from the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO) shipping channel, according to this article from NOLA.com. The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet shipping channel is a 76-mile channel constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the mid 20th century that provides a shorter route between ships traveling from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans’ inner harbor Industrial Canal via the Intracoastal Waterway, and ever since Hurricane Katrina struck the area in 2005, New Orleans residents have cursed the area, and state officials and activists have labeled it a “hurricane highway.”

It’s expected that Congress will soon approve legislation that will indicate that the federal government is responsible for financing a plan to restore wetlands eroded by the Mississippi River-Gulf outlet, or “Mr. Go,” as it’s often referred to. Despite the fact that the money would still need to be appropriated, the fact is that this years-long dispute over determining who should pay to restore the wetlands will finally come to a close. This note of legislative closure will be seen as a major victory for Louisiana officials, once passed.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, who has worked closely on the issue in Congress, commented on this issue by saying, “overall in terms of ecological productivity and buffer, this is an important project that needs to happen, and it is mitigating the adverse impacts of the federal project that was the MRGO.” Rep. Graves was formerly the state’s point man on coastal restoration.

The provision of funds is only a part of broader legislation that will authorize water-related projects nationwide, and Nola.com provided a list of the other Louisiana levee and flood protection projects that would be included in that authorization. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the legislation recently, and the Senate is expected to do the same in the coming days.

The shipping channel, which is 76-miles, was originally built as a shortcut from the Gulf of Mexico to the “doorstep” of New Orleans.  It has since been labeled a “hurricane highway” by Louisiana officials due to the fact that many storm surges were funneled through the MRGO during Hurricane Katrina, contributing to the devastating levee failure that allowed for the city to be inundated. While the Army Corps of Engineers has since reportedly downplayed the channel’s role during Katrina, MRGO’s long-term effects are still considered to run much deeper.

Since the channel fully opened in 1968, it has helped erode vast areas of marsh and wetlands in the passing decades. This has resulted in the damaging of the New Orleans area’s natural storm buffer and the alteration of the ecosystem at large. Additionally, saltwater intrusion through the MRGO, which was originally not used as heavily as was originally intended by the shipping industry, has aided in the destruction of cypress and tupelo swamp that once bordered the city of New Orleans.

Whenever the channel was closed in 2009 with the construction of a rock dam at Bayou La Loutre, it was disputed who should pay for the damage the channel left behind in its wake and where the funds should have originated from, making this recent indication of a nearby victory all-the-more encouraging.

Amanda Moore, the director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Program, is also the coordinator of the MRGO Must Go Coalition. She spoke about the issue by saying that this new legislation “marks a crucial milestone for addressing the disastrous legacy of the MRGO. More than 17 years after Hurricane Katrina, Congress has clarified its original intent – to fully and federally fund implementation of the MRGO ecosystem restoration plan.”

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Ground Broken for New Pump Station in Donaldsonville

It was recently announced that officials in Louisiana have broken ground for a $96 million pump station in Donaldsonville that will help to revive the local barrier islands and marshes that protect a large region of south Louisiana from Hurricanes and sea level rise. According to this article from The Advocate, the construction of the long-delayed pumping station, which is considered to be the key to many Bayou Lafourche and coastal restoration projects, had officially broken ground in Donaldsonville on Friday, October 21st.

The project actually caps a larger $220 million effort to reconnect the Mississippi River to the 106-mile-long Bayou Lafourche, which flows from Donaldsonville and empties into the Gulf of Mexico at Port Fourchon.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, members of the congress, and other elected officials were in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony. All parties came together in order to honor the start of construction of the $96 million pump station, which will protect the drinking water supply for four parishes (Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, and Terrebonne) and combat saltwater intrusion in Lafourche and Terrebonne estuaries. These estuaries experience some of the highest land loss rates in the world.

Gov. John Bel Edwards spoke about the long-delayed pump station by saying, “this is tremendous for the entire state. The lack of freshwater flowing into the bayou has endangered wetlands and drinking water supplies for 300,000 people. And it robbed this region of one of its most scenic waterways for too long.”

For more than a century, Bayou Lafourche had been sealed off from the Mississippi River, its main source of freshwater, and this action has led to a series of environmental problems, such as the loss of wetlands south of Houma and New Orleans.

Officials in south Louisiana have announced that the new station will be constructed atop the river levee in downtown Donaldsonville, alongside a nearly-70-year-old pump. The station is set to provide the area with increased water capacity. The pump will triple the flow of the river into Bayou Lafourche and revive marshes and barrier islands that help protect South Louisiana from hurricanes, while also ensuring that a region of South Louisiana has a safe drinking water supply.

Edwards highlighted the necessity of this project by saying, “the importance of this project to the Bayou Region and to our state can’t be overstated. The pump station will protect nearly 10 percent of Louisiana’s drinking water supplywhile nourishing over 85,000 acres of marsh in some of the country’s most land-starved areas. We’re investing more than ever before into protection and restoration projects across our coast, and it’s clear these efforts will continue to benefit Louisiana for decades to come.”

Since Hurricane Gustav in 2008 churned up a massive amount of muck and debris that blocked and contaminated the mouth of the bayou, state officials have been hard at work to restore Bayou Lafourche and build up the pump station. When Hurricane Gustav hit, there were weeks-long boil-water advisories in effect for approximately 300,000 residents. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge spoke at the ceremony about the conditions following the 2008 hurricane saying, “after Gustav, that water was stagnant and disgusting. You could smell the bayou for miles.”

According to The Advocate, the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District has spent the past 11 years preparing the bayou for the pump station’s increased flows by widening and deepening several miles of it, raising a railroad crossing in Donaldsonville, installing water control gates, and removing a small dam in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

The bayou projects have already attracted more residents to the neighborhood. Recently, there have been a number of recreational projects in the area that include public docks, boat launches, and bayou-side trails. The new pump station is projected to start operating in 2025, and it should be up and running by the end of 2025.

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“Last Acadian Coast” Symposium Hosted at Nicholls

In Early October, Nicholls State University hosted a symposium on the particularly unique history and culture of certain Acadian descendants in both Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes, according to this new release from Nicholls. The symposium, which is titled: “The Last Acadian Coast: A Symposium on Acadian History and Culture in the Lafourche-Terrebonne” was held on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, in the Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

The event is hosted by Nicholls State University, the Nicholls Coastal Center, the Center for Bayou Studies at Nicholls, the Lafourche Heritage Society, and the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center. Additionally, this event is a part of the larger Grand Réveil Acadien 2022, which is a multi-parish experience that is designed to celebrate the lasting cultural impact of the Acadian people across southern Louisiana.

The Last Acadian Coast’s Symposium on Acadian history and culture in the Lafourche Terrebonne Area did so by featuring several notable speakers at their public event who spoke on the Acadians of the wetlands. The following speakers and topics were featured at the event:

  • Glen Pitre, “Historic Lifeways in the Lafourche-Terrebonne”
  • John Doucet, “The Last Acadian Coast: Settlement and Succession of the Wetlands Acadians”
  • Windell Curole, “Shaped by Tide and Thunder and Terror: Historical Storms and the Shaping of Coastal Settlement in the Lafourche-Terrebonne”
  • Nathalie Dajko, “French on Shifting Ground: Development of Unique Language in the Lafourche-Terrebonne”
  • Donald (Don) Davis, ”Historical Wetlands Seafood Culture and Industry”
  • Patty Whitney, “A Cultural Gumbo: Terrebonne Parish’s 200th Anniversary”
  • Shana Walton & Helen Regis, ”Living off the Land in Lafourche: Hunting, Fishing, Planting and Community”

Prior to the “Last Acadian Coast” symposium, an event a part of Grand Réveil Acadien took place at Nicholls State University’s Chef John Folse Culinary Institute. The event was an “Acadian Chef Demo,” and it featured Chef Paul Thimot and Chef Shane Robicheau who cooked and prepared a traditional Acadian dish while highlighting the culture and food of Acadian culture and Nova Scotia in both the past and present.

After the “Last Acadian Coast” symposium, Grand Réveil Acadien also featured a Cajun Music Demonstration & Lecture at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center. This demonstration and lecture featured Chad Huval on accordion and Brazos Huval on fiddle as they demonstrated Cajun Music techniques while also teaching about the history of Cajun music and the preservation of music specific to Bayou Lafourche.

In providing more information on the Acadian descendants of both Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish, Nicholls provided the following information: “the migration of Acadian exiles to Louisiana largely concluded in 1785 with the landing of seven-passenger ships in New Orleans carrying nearly 1600 persons. Following earlier establishments of the First and Second Acadian Coast settlements along the Mississippi River, most of the 1785 Acadian immigrants were settled along the Bayous Lafourche and Terrebonne.”

The arrival of the Acadian immigrants didn’t only the largest single migration and settlement of Acadians in the entire world, but it also marked the final mass re-settlement of Acadians in history. Over time, these Acadian immigrants migrated south along the bayous toward the Gulf Coast, and they founded “not only the bayouside cities, towns, and villages we know today but also forging their own history and developing a unique wetlands Cajun culture.”

Furthermore, Grand Réveil Acadien described their multi-parish experience as a way to “encourage Acadians from around the world to continue to advance our unique lifestyle through shared memories, French-speaking events, bonding and fellowship over Cajun food and music, and the general celebration of our shared culture.” Because of this, there is no better sponsor than Nicholls State University to host a symposium on the rich tapestry of the history of Acadian people in both LaFourche and Terrebonne Parishes.

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Sediment Diversion Project to Move Forward

Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers released a final environmental impact statement that will help to expedite a $2 billion project to fight coastal land loss with a sediment diversion project that will divert sediment from the Mississippi River to Barataria Basin, according to this article from nola.com.

The Army Corps of Engineers’ final environmental impact statement included a detailed study on Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. This study will help to determine when federal and state permits will be awarded for the project. Once those permits are awarded, they could come as early as December, which would give final approval to the project, which has been called quite “monumental” by Louisiana officials.

Chairman of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Chip Kline, commented on the progress made toward this substantial project by saying, “this is a monumental moment for the state and the state’s coastal program. It has been told to us by members of the Biden administration that this is the largest coastal restoration project in the country, and the largest of its type anywhere in the world.” Kline also commented on the project moving forward in light of the recently released report by saying that it has put Louisiana on the “two-yard line,” indicating that the project’s construction could begin in early 2023.

The $2 billion project, which will be funded by settlements related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, will prove to provide significant reductions in future storm surge flooding for residents of the New Orleans West Bank. These storm surge reductions will come from the creation of approximately 21 square miles of new land through the year 2070.

Despite this good news in terms of storm surge reductions for New Orleans residents, this project will also significantly impact the area in terms of bringing “significant damaging effects to commercial finfish, oyster and shrimp catches, and some additional flooding risk to communities just south of the diversion location on the west bank of the Mississippi in Plaquemines Parish.”

Environmental deficits notwithstanding, Louisiana state officials still see this substantial diversion project as “the most needed capstone of” the state’s 50-year Coastal Master Plan, as this project represents a significant reduction in the sheer amount of wetlands that are expected to be “sacrificed to subsidence and human-fueled sea level rise along this part of the state’s coastline through the end of the century.” The diversion project will entail the sending of as much as 7 million tons of sediment into the Barataria Basin each year, which is a process that practically mimics the original creation of southern Louisiana.

According to the 12,757-page main report and appendices recently released by the Army Corps of Engineers, the diversion would carry 5-7 million tons of sediment into the basin annually. The report says that this annual carrying of sediment “would have permanent, major, beneficial impacts on land building,” as it would essentially create new land. It’s projected that in its first 10 years, the diversion project would create approximately 10 square miles of new land in the basin and an additional 27 square miles of new land would be created over the next 50 years after that. Although the amount of land created over the first 50 years would be offset by expected wetland losses from sea level rise and subsidence elsewhere in the basin, the final result would still amount to an aggregate increase of 21 square miles in new land area.

Lastly, it was cited by Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority that the diversion project would create 12,000 direct and indirect jobs in southeast Louisiana with most of them being housed in Plaquemines, St. Bernard,Jefferson and Orleans parishes.

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Awards Announced by Governor Edwards to Assist in Closing Digital Gaps in Louisiana

Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, announced that over the course of the next 18-24 months, over $35 million will be distributed in order to bring affordable high-speed internet to nearly 15,000 locations, according to this article from The Houma Times.  The goal is to close the digital gaps seen in many areas throughout the state.

The announcement was made as the Louisiana Governor was joined by federal, state, and locally elected officials and community leaders at the state’s inaugural Broadband Solutions Summit. This was where it was also announced by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), that Louisiana is the first state in the nation to have received two grant awards funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a law that will help to expand internet service statewide in order to close digital gaps. The two grants were a State Digital Equity Planning Grant for $941,542.28 and a Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program planning grant for $2,000,000.

It was also announced that two new parishes, Vernon and LaSalle Parish, will also be impacted by this second wave of awards that have been provided through Louisiana’s broadband program, Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities, or GUMBO.

Earlier this year in July, Governor John Bel Edwards announced the first wave of GUMBO awards as a result of the American Rescue Plan’s $130 million investment to provide broadband access to more than 66,000 households and small businesses through Internet Service Providers in 50 parishes. Governor Edwards commented on this additional opportunity to the July 2019 announcement by saying, “in 2019, we set a goal to close Louisiana’s digital divide by 2029, and this announcement is another step in the right direction.”

He continued, “I am so grateful for the progress we are making, thanks to the help from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Some of us take access to broadband for granted, but there are still many people who do not have reliable or affordable connections, especially in the rural parts of our state. If we can connect those communities, we will improve health outcomes, grow our economy, increase access to educational opportunities, and enhance the quality of life for so many people.”

Veneeth Iyengar, the Executive Director of ConnectLa, commented on this second round of awarded funds by saying, “we are grateful that NTIA has quickly approved our plans to draw down the first funds in the country for BEAD and Digital Equity to develop not only the 1st 5-year strategic plan for the state but also the first digital equity plan. “The approach we are going to take to address access, affordability, literacy, and the lack of devices will be highly innovative and move Louisiana’s economy forward.”

These GUMBO awards highlight the groundwork originally begun by Gov. Edwards in 2019 when the Governor signed an executive order that created the Broadband for Everyone Louisiana Commission. This Commission was created with the goal of eliminating the digital gaps in the state of Louisiana by 2029. Then, in 2020, Gov. Edwards created ConnectLA’s Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, which is led by Executive Director Veneeth Iyengar,who called the establishing of ConnectLA the culmination of all “the hard work that our stakeholders (teacher, parents, small business owners, public safety, parish officials etc.) have given towards addressing the digital divide. These investments will not only address the access issues but will create hundreds and thousands of good paying jobs that will impact people’s trajectory in their communities.”

Additionally, in order to address the estimated 462,000 Louisiana citizens who lack basic digital literacy skills, ConnectLA partnered with the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Department of Education, and the State Library of Louisiana, in order to establish pilot programs in multiple parishes to reduce the digital literacy rate by 50%.

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Louisiana Reflects One Year After Hurricane Ida

With the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida making landfall on Louisiana’s shores having recently passed, The Houma Times released a retrospective article that took a look back on how recovery efforts in the Bayou Region have taken shape in the past twelve months, as the area begins to prepare for yet another hurricane season.

The article focuses on how “Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou” saw the Category-4 storm’s destructive storm surges and winds brought with them the closing of local restaurants, attractions, events, and so much more, but despite all this, the storm didn’t deter the Cajun sense of perseverance against adversity. On the morning of August 30, many will recall that “neighbors helped neighbors, communities helped communities, and friends from around the country rushed to Louisiana’s aid, showcasing a shared camaraderie in the wake of the storm.

Similarly, Nola.com released a one-year reflection piece that detailed a collection of recent post-Hurricane Ida coverage that has been written by NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune about what’s happening in the state in terms of housing, insurance, power, and more.” Some of this coverage, in particular this piece that focuses on the communities of St. John Parish, details how LaPlace, Louisiana’s residents are still rebounding from the August 29th storm, despite still being in harm’s way for the upcoming hurricane season.

The informative article reported that according to the Louisiana Office of Community Development, “nearly 5,000 owner-occupied homes and some 3,700 renters were affected by [Hurricane] Ida” in St. John Parish with data suggesting “that, on a per-capita basis, St. John was Louisiana’s hardest-hit parish.” This data also purported that over 75% of homes in the parish had sustained wind damage claims, which is the highest rate of any Louisiana Parish. This was in addition to St. John Parish also seeing 60% of its homeowners with flood-insurance policies also file claims.

It’s well-knoen that St John Parish was particularly hit hard by Hurricane Ida, but one year after the fact has seen a recovery that has unfortunately been challenged by the state’s homeowners insurance crisis, which was triggered by the four hurricanes that have made landfall in Louisiana since late 2020. Since then, “eight companies have collapsed under financial strain and a growing number of them are pulling out of Louisiana, [and these] failed insurers have left behind more than 26,000 unresolved claims for the state’s industry bailout program to handle.”

St. John Parish Councilman Robert Arcuri commented on the recovery efforts in the area saying, “the devastation after the storm was incredible because not only did people flood, but we also had a lot of structural damage on properties. We still have a lot of residents that are fighting with their insurance company and some of them are just starting to rebuild. That’s a problem, but it’s not a big problem; I see a lot of progress that’s happening in our parish.”

Elsewhere in the state, local leaders at the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness or GOHSEP, have reported that they are hard at work to prepare for what’s to come in 2022’s hurricane season and beyond. Specifically, GOHSEP has since revamped how they communicate with federal and state agencies “to clarify the responsibility and investments in sheltering, rescue, and response.”

Despite the multiple levels of preparedness going into effect across the state at various levels, one of the most effective methods of preparing for the next storm is to get an emergency kit ready on your own accord. Luckily, Louisiana’s Get a Game Plan organization has a collection of resources to not only stock your own emergency kit, but they have a guide to preparing yourself and your family for conceivably every possible scenario.

In his statement concerning the anniversaries of Hurricanes Ida, Katrina, and Laura, Governor John Bel Edwardsissued the following words to the citizens of Louisiana, “the road to recovery is never easy, and we still have much work ahead of us. But I am optimistic knowing that Louisiana is in a much stronger place than we were even a year ago. Homes, businesses and schools are being rebuilt. More of our citizens are employed than ever before. Our levee system has never been stronger. There is no challenge we can’t overcome by working together, and I am inspired by the people of this great state who continue to persevere.”

These words ring true, not only because they highlight how the state of Louisiana has bounced back in some ways after each storm, but because it sets the tone for yet another hurricane season as one that ushers in an air of preparedness, foresight, and community.

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