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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
It could soon become easier to build in Louisiana wetlands
Photo of cypress trees in the Atchafalaya River Basin. Environmental groups like the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and Sierra Club worry a new bill will make it easier to develop in isolated wetland areas. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) In a stretch of wild land in Iberville Parish, a small dirt dam built across an out-of-the-way bayou is at the center of a lawsuit. Environmental advocates fear cases like this could become more common if a Louisiana proposal to redefine its wetlands becomes law. Opponents say this proposed change doesn't just open doors for mixed legal interpretations; it could also make it easier to erase valuable wetland habitat and build in flood-prone areas. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge two years ago by the environmental group Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association-West. They allege Benjamin Miller of Miller Hunting Club in Eunice illegally dammed Pat's Throat Bayou in 2021 to access hunting grounds on the other bank. The hunting club didn't get a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before Miller built the dam, according to the lawsuit. Instead, the plaintiffs claim the USACE granted a permit after the dam was illegally built. If the Louisiana Legislature approves a proposed update to its wetlands laws, environmentalists fear property owners and developers will argue that wetlands like these – illegally dammed off from a navigable body of water – shouldn't be protected under state or federal law. 'There will be lawsuits,' said Margie Vicknair-Pray, conservation coordinator for the Sierra Club Delta chapter. 'They're changing the definition, but that doesn't change reality.' Mirroring Sackett Pat's Throat Bayou is a window into how a national policy shift could affect Louisiana. A 2023 Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, narrowed federal protection for wetlands. The case arose from an Idaho family who backfilled their property, which the EPA later determined to be protected wetlands. The Sacketts challenged that determination, arguing successfully their land did not connect to a navigable water body – known in federal law as Waters of the United States (WOTUS). Before Sackett, developers needed a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge or fill a wetland area protected under the federal Clean Water Act. The Sackett ruling also left uncertainty as to where navigable channels under WOTUS begin and end when it comes to wetlands, according to Mark Davis, director of the Tulane Center for Environmental Law. 'They didn't define exactly how that's going to play out … and people will agree and disagree where those lines are drawn,' Davis said. This means owners and developers might not need permits from the USACE to build in isolated wetland areas. The grey area has prompted states to step in and try to fill the regulatory gap with their own wetlands laws. Louisiana state Sen. 'Big Mike' Fesi, R-Houma, has sponsored Senate Bill 94 in response to the Sackett decision. His bill looks to redefine wetlands cut off by levees that break their connection to navigable water bodies as 'fastlands,' disqualifying them from federal protection. Fesi said in an interview his bill is meant to bring Louisiana law in line with the Sackett decision. 'We try calling everything wetlands just because it has a little water in it,' Fesi said. 'It's gotten way out of hand.' The Sackett ruling does not affect wetlands connected to navigable bodies of water, such as the Mississippi River, or tidal wetlands along Louisiana's coast. They would still have federal protection under the Clean Water Act. Wetlands with levees, either through 'current or future lawful construction,' are left more vulnerable in Fesi's proposal. The senator did not give a conclusive answer when asked what will happen to current wetlands cut off by future levees, saying his bill was intended to invite room for individual interpretation 'One size doesn't fit all,' he said. That's exactly the issue wetlands advocates have with Senate Bill 94 – the room for interperetation it leaves for how wetlands are defined. In the case of Pat's Throat Bayou, the argument was over whether wetlands connected to the navigable bayou were cut off legally or illegally when Miller built a dam, said Brennan Spoor, a member of Atchafalaya Basinkeepers. The group's mission is to protect and restore the swamps and waterways of the basin. 'The bill applies to all [levees and dams] that are currently existing or future ones that are lawfully constructed,' Spoor said. 'You could argue that the dam was lawfully constructed, and therefore the wetlands that they have destroyed since they built the dam were never wetlands at all,' he added, explaining that the bill tries to eliminate the need for a federal permit if the property owners want to dredge or fill the landscape. The exact language of the bill is also concerning to legal experts for the confusion they say it will create in the law. Fesi's bill changes the definition of wetlands under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the program that regulates contamination released into surface waters. But Louisiana still needs to follow federal law for pollutants. 'The notion of a continuous surface connection is not really part of the rule for what a pollution discharge covers,' Davis said. 'If anything, it creates deeper confusion rather than clarification.' The Louisiana Senate approved Fesi's bill Tuesday in a 35-1 vote. It heads next to the governor for his signature. Flood concerns As legal arguments mount, environmental advocates say the stakes are high for Louisiana. Building in wetland areas eliminates valuable habitat and increases the risk of flooding in nearby communities, Vicknair-Pray said. 'People just want to build where they want to build, and they don't want to think of the long-term consequences' like habitat loss and flooding, she said. 'That water has to go somewhere. We need wetlands for that water to back up into.' When asked about flood concerns, Fesi said he thinks his bill would make it easier to construct and repair levees, aiding with much-needed flood control in some areas and 'promoting individual property rights' for those wanting to build in previously defined wetlands. 'Those aren't wetlands,' Fesi said, speaking about wetland areas surrounded by levees or cut off from bodies of water. The 2023 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan, a document outlining various coastal restoration and flood protection projects, recommends a combination of wetland resources and manmade levees for flood control. The same document also warns that overengineering rivers like the Mississippi can 'impact coastal wetlands and undermine their ability to replenish naturally.' 'The marsh behind a levee is going to die,' Vicknair-Pray said. Aside from just diminished natural flood control, she worries wildlife living in isolated wetland areas, including migrating ducks and native reptiles, will be put at risk with development encouraged under Fesi's legislation. 'We used to consider this Sportsman's Paradise,' she said. 'I don't think we can say that anymore.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana's oyster industry is at risk. A new harvesting technique is pitched as a solution.
Kirk Curole, owner of Bayside Oysters in Grand Isle, shakes the algae off his floating oyster cages. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) GRAND ISLE – Not all jewels have the deep green features of emeralds or sparkle of diamonds. Some tumble from algae-coated cages in a rush of rock and shell, briny water splashing alongside them onto the deck of a boat. These fine commodities are oysters, grown and harvested just off Louisiana's coastline in a different way than the traditional seafloor beds that have been farmed for generations. Cultivated in a string of floating cages instead of on the water's bottom, Grand Isle Jewels, the umbrella brand for all off-bottom oysters in the barrier island community, are marketed as precious gems of the Gulf Coast. 'You create this craze for a certain item, and everybody's jumping on it,' said Kirk Curole, owner of Bayside Oysters in Grand Isle. After retiring from a career in oil and gas, Curole began harvesting off-bottom oysters as a hobby that turned into a small business. He now spends his days on the water, clad in rubber waders and toughened gloves as he pulls his crop from the floating cages. 'It's the 'bougie' oyster. It's the boutique oyster,' he said. 'Everybody wants to try it.' Louisiana is exploring Grand Isle Jewels as more than just a marketing strategy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lists the state's strong interest in off-bottom oyster cultivation as a way to help build resiliency into an industry under threat from sediment diversions in its final environmental impact statement for the controversial Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project. Whether this technique can beat back worsening hurricanes, climate change and the impact of sediment diversions is still undetermined. Curole, owner of Bayside Oysters in Grand Isle, describes his day running a small off-bottom oyster business in Grand Isle, Louisiana. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Curole waits for his oysters to pass through his homemade, solar-powered washing machine. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) The mobility of off-bottom, floating cages can, in theory, be helpful during storm prep and in response to low salinity events. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Curole bags oysters to sell in Grand Isle. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Crabs, snails and other sea creatures can hide in off-bottom oyster cages. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Curole swings over the side of his boat in waders to get to his floating oyster cages. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Curole has a transportable cooler for keeping oysters chilled. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) On-bottom culture, where oysters attach to reefs or substrate on the water's bottom, is and has been the most popular method of oyster harvesting in Louisiana's waters, fed for centuries by the wealth of nutrients carried down the Mississippi River and into the delta region. 'Oysters here are probably in the best location in this regard because they show very high growth,' said Romain Lavaud, an oyster scientist and researcher at LSU. 'They can be harvested within a year, whereas in other parts of their distribution range it can take two to three years.' But Louisiana's environment can also be an oyster harvester's worst enemy. Hurricanes inflict huge damage to oyster reefs, and heavy rains can dilute the salt content of the water, killing oyster crops. 'You're kind of, like in any agriculture production, at the mercy of environmental conditions,' Lauvaud said. Farming oysters has always been a gamble, said Peter Vujnovich, a third-generation on-bottom harvester based in Port Sulphur. Oyster farmers can lose big after a storm, he said. 'Mostly you try to protect your house, your boats and the equipment and stuff like that, and the rest is really up to God,' Vujnovich said. 'Make the sign of the cross, just hope you don't get a direct hit.' Port Sulphur saw large losses to its oyster reefs in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina, which eliminated seeding ground for traditional farmers. Then, there are sediment diversions, a coastal restoration approach that mimics the natural process of building a delta with silty water from the Mississippi River. There are multiple planned diversions in Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan to rebuild wetlands that have been diminished through hurricanes, natural subsidence and countless man-made canals. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project is one of the more controversial ones because of its likelihood of 'major, permanent, adverse impacts' to oyster populations, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental impact statement. It would alter or eliminate vast swaths of habitat in the Barataria basin, with the goal of returning the area to what it looked like before the effects of sea level rise, erosion and subsidence changed it. But on-bottom harvesters need reefs, and diversions would likely permanently eliminate vast swaths of oyster habitat. The Corps of Engineers' study for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion suggests the most productive oyster grounds in its basin, Hackberry Bay, 'would experience the highest losses,' potentially experiencing 'total loss' of habitat. Gov. Jeff Landry has called for a pause on the nearly $3 billion project, citing in part its impact on the oyster industry. The Corps of Engineers has identified off-bottom oyster cultivation as a potential way for the industry to adapt to the threat of sediment diversions. The federal agency has oversight of all coastal restoration projects and acts as a gatekeeper for what's proposed in Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan. Off-bottom farming could 'help diversify the oyster industry and add a level of sustainability as the industry adjusts to a changing coast,' specifically in response to the diversion's impact on salinity, the corps study said. Off-bottom culture can help with protection against predators and offer a way to harvest in areas without abundant reefs, left stripped after storms. But the key advantage the Army Corps and the state's Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority cites centers around mobility. Floating cages could, in theory, be moved in response to a low salinity event such as the opening of a diversion. But harvesters need permission from regulators to store their gear and oysters in different bodies of water from where they're harvested, and that can take up to 18 months to obtain. Also, the Louisiana Department of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not allow oysters to be out of the water for more than 24 hours. Mobility could also help mitigate hurricane damage even if the oysters have to be jettisoned so the cages could be moved on shore temporarily during a storm. Curole said even if he loses his crop, it's worth it to save his expensive equipment and harvest off-bottom again after the storm. 'If a storm is coming, I'm just going to go pick up my equipment, even if I have to dump my oysters out,' he said. 'I can oyster next year, or I can oyster in two or three months.' This works for Curole, whose trailer can haul up to 350 oyster cages, but his business is relatively small. At the scale industry would need, there might not be enough time to relocate all the cages they would use, and the loss could spell doom for a business' bottom line. 'It has not been demonstrated that gear can be sunk and retrieved cost-effectively or relocated in time to avoid damage and loss of both gear and crop,' Daniel Petrolia, a University of Mississippi agro-ecomomics professor, wrote in a 2023 report on the economic challenges to off-bottom harvesting in Louisiana. Time is in short supply as hurricanes approach, especially with storms developing and intensifying more rapidly in recent years. Off-bottom oyster operations are already expensive, according to the Petrolia report. He concludes the loss of harvesting gear to a storm could sink an off-bottom oyster harvester's livelihood indefinitely. Petrolia's report also found that the success of off-bottom oysters in Louisiana relies entirely on state subsidies. Louisiana began to offer grants for off-bottom harvesters in 2022, starting with $3 million to address the high startup costs 'Although the … grant program can indeed provide a hand up to existing growers, it does distort market signals and may give the impression that economic conditions are better than they actually are,' the report reads. 'The eventual disappearance of the [subsidy] program will likely have consequences.' The report also doesn't expect 'the average small-scale operation' to be profitable, even with funding support from the state. Curole did not receive a grant from the state and said his business is currently profitable, but he represents a smaller set of growers that operate more for supplemental income. True profitability becomes more possible, according to the report, with larger businesses. Off-bottom cultivation was never pitched as a silver bullet solution for the oyster industry's future. Louisiana SeaGrant, a federal government-LSU partnership, is responsible for the majority of the off-bottom funding and hatchery support. It paid for Petrolia's report and stands by the idea that off-bottom culture is meant to supplement rather than replace traditional techniques. Different off-bottom initiatives continue to support the oyster industry, such as the expansion of hatchery operations that farmers rely on for seed. Further research, such as how to sink and secure cages during hurricanes, and grant money to support it are also needed. To harvesters like Vujnovich, the survival of the industry doesn't hinge on a choice between off-bottom or on-bottom cultivation. It's whether or not these tools will help his industry stand on its own again. 'They'll always have a few hardcore like me,' he said. 'The question is not if it'll survive; it's if it'll flourish again.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Weather modification bills, fueled by ‘magic' and conspiracy theories, advance in Louisiana
Bills banning weather modification in Louisiana are making their way through the State Legislature. Cloud seeding is a real field of scientific study, but can be rife with misinformation. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Two bills to ban weather modification in Louisiana have quietly moved their way through the state legislature this session, as a cohort of other states have moved to do the same with technology that purports to encourage rain or alter temperature. Senate Bill 46, sponsored by Sen. 'Big Mike' Fesi, R-Houma, and House Bill 608, by Rep. Kim Coates, R-Ponchatoula, would ban the intentional release of chemicals into the atmosphere to alter the weather or climate. Coates' measure includes a $200,000 fine for any violation. Weather modification is a wide-reaching term and often marbled with deep veins of misinformation. Human efforts and theories that attempt to alter precipitation or temperature are real but largely new areas of scientific study. The concept of weather modification has produced solid science along with skepticism and conspiracy theories in the decades since studies began. The Louisiana bills specifically reference cloud seeding, or attempts to encourage rainfall with aerosols sprayed into the air. They also cover solar radiation modification, which tries to deflect sunlight away from Earth to curb increasing temperatures and associated climate change. Cloud seeding experiments are exceedingly rare along the Gulf Coast, and solar radiation modification exists only as a theoretical concept. Robert Rauber, an atmospheric scientist and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, said cloud seeding simply doesn't have widespread use in Louisiana, where rain is relatively abundant. 'The Gulf Coast doesn't need rain,' Rauber said, unlike the mountainous or desert states where cloud seeding is a more attractive option. 'The reason why they cloud seed out west is to increase water supplies.' Rauber has participated in a variety of cloud seeding experiments in mountainous regions of the western United States and said the types of clouds along the Gulf Coast aren't really conducive for seeding. 'It's never been proven to work' at scale with the puffy, cumulus clouds more common in the South, said Rauber. 'These clouds form wherever the heck they want … you can't target an area very effectively.' Cloud seeding can't alter the paths or intensity of hurricanes either, said Rauber. He cited failed experiments in the 1940s when scientists seeded hurricanes with dry ice to see if they could weaken their intensity. Although researchers learned valuable information on how hurricanes formed and traveled, they were not able to change their path or intensity. One business has conducted cloud seeding experiments along the Gulf Coast, according to Rauber, who stressed that the science is shaky. Rainmaker Technology Corp., a geoengineering company based in El Segundo, California, has conducted experiments along the Gulf Coast as recently as March, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records. The company claims to use charged water particles to promote rain instead of aerosols. 'It's magic as far as I'm concerned because I have not seen any scientific research done in a proper way that shows that any of that is effective,' Rauber said. Misinformation and unproven methods that Rainmaker Technology and other companies promote adds to public fear and conspiracy theories surrounding weather modification, the professor said. Rainmaker Technology did not respond to calls for comment. Cloud seeding with silver iodide has been practiced for more than 70 years, and the scientific consensus is that the amount used is relatively effective, with the right clouds, and environmentally safe. Sprayed into clouds as an aerosol, silver iodide freezes and gives moisture-heavy clouds something to grab onto, coaxing its water molecules to condense and fall from the sky as rain. James Diaz, a medical toxicologist and professor emeritus at the LSU Health Sciences Center School of Public Health in New Orleans, said silver can prompt reactions when ingested in large doses and lab experiments suggest the heavy metal could be harmful to aquatic life in large amounts over time, but he said the amounts used for cloud seeding do not alarm him. 'These toxicities are unlikely after cloud seeding,' Diaz said. It's a similar story with iodide. Large amounts over long periods of time can do environmental and health harm, but Diaz said the amounts needed for cloud seeding aren't worrying. 'We should be more concerned about petrochemicals and pesticides,' he said. Fesi's bill doesn't apply to firefighting aerosols or pesticides used for agriculture. Coates said in an interview she intends to amend her bill so that it would not apply to pollutants emitted from the burning of fossil fuels. Fesi mentioned in his floor speech that sulfur dioxide is among the chemicals he believes are being sprayed into the atmosphere. There is no evidence that cloud seeding uses sulfur dioxide. The burning of fossil fuels, namely coal and oil at power plants and industrial facilities, is one of the largest sources of sulfur dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Coates and Fesi clarified in interviews their bills will not regulate industrial emissions. Coates said she considers her bill to be part of the wider push in Republican-led states to ban weather modification, adding she believes the issue to have bipartisan appeal. Florida recently approved legislation similar to what's under consideration in Louisiana, and Tennessee approved a ban on weather modification in 2024. 'I just decided that I wanted to bring the bill because I don't feel like anyone in Louisiana gave someone the right to do research in the air above us,' Coates said. 'That's our air above us, and we haven't given anybody permission, anybody the right to spray or do any modification above us.' When asked about the lack of widespread weather modification experiments in Louisiana, Coates said her bill is more precautionary. 'Why mess with Mother Nature?' she added. Coates' bill advanced from the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment with unanimous support and awaits debate in the full House. Fesi testified on the Senate floor April 28 during debate over his bill that he believes 'certain agencies within the federal government are doing cloud seeding and geoengineering.' In an interview Friday, the senator was asked what evidence he had to support his claims. 'Look up in our sky,' Fesi answered. In an interview, Fesi later said he sees 'just tons and tons of cloud seeding' above his backyard and described it as 'all of the stripes across the skies.' Neither bill specifically discusses banning contrails, short for condensation trails. The thin, white cloud streaks that stretch behind airplanes are created as warm exhaust from jet engines meet the icy cold atmosphere, similarly to how warm breath briefly creates a fog in cold air. Unsubstantiated contrail theories attempt to connect weather modification and contrails, alleging jets are spraying chemicals for reasons ranging from weather alterations to population control. Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, was the only lawmaker to question Fesi's claims on the Senate floor. He responded that '32 different agencies collect money for geoengineering of our weather.' Pressed by Barrow for details, Fesi shared a widely debunked conspiracy theory that the federal government is spraying aerosols to block sunlight, and that the materials – namely aluminum oxide – have been found in agricultural fields from contrail chemical spraying. No evidence exists of a government program that conducts or collects money for cloud seeding or solar radiation modification experiments. With no one else challenging his statements, Fesi's bill advanced from the Senate on a 27-12 party line vote, with Republicans prevailing. The measure awaits committee consideration in the House of Representatives.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proponents of Mid-Barataria diversion warn against abandoning wetlands
Advocates and supporters of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project rallied on the Capitol steps in support of the stalled coastal restoration plan. (Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) Supporters of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project took to the State Capitol steps Monday afternoon, urging state leaders to advance the stalled coastal restoration project. The Mid-Barataria project, part of the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan to rebuild wetlands with diverted sediment and water from the Mississippi River, is often hailed as the cornerstone project in Louisiana's fight to rebuild its rapidly sinking coastline. Gov. Jeff Landry has railed against the plan's high cost and impact to fisheries, blaming a key Army Corps construction permitting loss on former Gov. John Be Edwards. The pause has prompted increasing uncertainty as to whether the massive coastal restoration plan will continue as originally designed. Advocates of the project worry any alternate plans will mean further delays or – worse yet – inactivity that could spell doom for Louisiana's coast. 'Now is the time for courage and action,' Simone Maloz, campaign director of Restore the Mississippi River Delta, said during a news conference in concert with the Capitol demonstration. Supporters held aloft signs with phrases promoting sediment diversions printed boldly across pictures of Louisiana's coast as speakers took turns at the lectern to speak about the uncertain project. 'Honor the legacy of our coastal program and recommit to the bold vision our coast demands, including resuming construction on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion,' Maloz added. 'The river built the land, now we must let it help us heal it,' the Rev. Ernest Dison Sr., pastor at a church in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, said during the rally. His neighborhood went underwater in 2005 when storm surge from Hurricane Katrina exposed design flaws in floodwalls along the Industrial Canal and Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Decades of wetlands diminishment allowed the storm surge to reach the city largely unabated. Dison said his faith and environmental stewardship are closely entwined, and the risk storms pose to his community convinced him to speak out in support of the coastal master plan. 'We need to protect our communities,' he said. 'This Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project gives us hope. We can't afford to waste that opportunity to be good stewards of what we've been given.' Money problems The Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority and Louisiana Senate has approved more than $500 million for Mid-Barataria construction to begin despite its status being in limbo. Opponents of the large-scale diversion, including those with fisheries interests, have floated the idea of using the money to build smaller sediment diversions. But whether funding can be redistributed that seamlessly is a question with no outright answer. Louisiana's money for coastal restoration comes largely from a trust created with BP oil spill settlement dollars. A cohort of federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Interior, oversee the funds Maloz said in an interview she is concerned an alternate plan might not get the same financial approval Mid-Barataria did from the trust overseers. '[The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is] very tied to the damage that happened … that money is intended to mitigate and fix that problem,' she said. 'That's a huge question that is looming on the alternatives … is that the right project to mitigate for those injuries, for that natural resource damage that occurred from the oil spill? Smaller scale diversions Diversion advocates and scientists maintain smaller diversions aren't as effective at rebuilding wetlands, still sending fresh water into Barataria Bay but with less benefit. Opponents fear the deluge of fresh water from the Mississippi River would alter the salt content of the brackish water, killing shrimp and oyster populations near shore and pushing other marine life away from the coast. Ehab Meselhe, a Tulane University professor and scientist who worked on hydrologic modeling for the Mid-Barataria plan, published a number of peer-reviewed studies modeling smaller Mississippi River diversions. They involved moving a fraction of the water Mid-Barataria currently proposes. His findings: Less water meant less wetland growth. 'It's not going to move as much sediment, build as much land,' Meselhe said, all while concerns over impacts to oysters and shrimp stick around. 'There is no doubt… you will have the impacts, and definitely a lot less benefit.' Even still, he emphasised the need to find a solution that involves and supports the people who live in the area. 'There is no silver bullet solution. Every time you touch the system, you will have benefits and you will have impacts,' Meselhe said. 'Some strategies are better than others … I think we need to sit at the table and see what are the palatable options that are out there, and these are the ones we need to pursue.' Anne Milling, founder of post-Katrina advocacy group Women of the Storm, said in an interview that mitigation dollars tied to Mid-Barataria gave the plan actionable ways to support fisheries. 'Yes, it's our culture of Louisiana, which I love and adore and respect,' Milling said. 'You've got to remember that $375 million was set aside in the Mid-Barataria Diversion project to compensate and help the communities relocate from any disturbance from this diversion.' 'We cannot afford to take solutions off the table,' Maloz said, voicing her organization's support for small-scale diversions in other areas while still standing in support of Mid-Barataria. 'There was a really extensive process that said, 'This is the solution that matches the loss in that basin. This is what it needs for that overall long term health,'' she added. Permit drama increases uncertainty Controversy over a pulled construction permit and a social media fight between Landry and his predecessor, Edwards, have heightened tensions and uncertainty over the Mid-Barataria Sediment Division even further. Landry delivered a harsh critique of Mid-Barataria last November, saying the threat it posed to the shrimp and oyster industry would 'break' Louisiana culture. His administration then issued a 90-day pause on all work related to the project on April 4, saying the high cost called for a smaller-scale diversion. The Army Corps recently revoked a permit for the nearly $3 billion project, citing unreported documents, project uncertainty and lack of support from the current governor's administration as reasons to reconsider. Landry accused Edwards of purposely hiding a 500-page study from Army Corps officials. Edwards countered Landry's claims, saying accusations of a cover-up are unfounded, and stressed that the report in question didn't change the science behind the Mid-Barataria plan, The Times-Picayune reported. Maloz said she believed the project had everything it needed for approval, wanting more answers from the Army Corps decision. 'We feel like we went through this really extensive process that had science, that had people, that had communities all in mind to get us to a decision on both the permit and the funding,' she said. 'And now it feels like we have been entirely cut out of that process.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘The Light Switch,' Episode 5: Wading through wetlands politics
Louisiana's wetlands are a hot political topic right now, thanks to Governor Jeff Landry putting the breaks on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Debate over that decision has probably overshadowed other efforts to replenish our coast. Episode 5 of 'The Light Switch' dives headfirst into the conflict with Illuminator reporter Elise Plunk, our Report for American corps member who's focused on all things water related. She's taken an up-close look at ongoing wetlands rebuilding and spent a lot of time looking into the science behind coastal restoration. We'll talk about her recent reporting (see story links below). For our 'Swamp Spotlight' segment, Elise interview Tulane University professor Ehab Meselhe, one of the foremost authorities on coastal restoration. He weighs in on the stalled Mid-Barataria diversion, the science behind the project and other wetlands work. In our 'News From the States' segment, we learn about why Rhode Island leaders felt the need to revise their rules on harvesting road kill. Yes, we think that feels like a 'very Louisiana' thing, too. 'A living laboratory': An accidental delta taught Louisiana scientists how to rebuild wetlands $2 billion approved for Louisiana coastal work, despite paused major project Scientific dispute over using sewage to restore Louisiana's wetlands turns political
