State to buy land for restoration

• By AMY WOLD
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Jun 30, 2009 - Page: 3B

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A large portion of a $290 million influx of funding for coastal restoration and protection work will go toward purchasing rights-of-way and land for hurricane protection work in the New Orleans metro area, state officials said Monday.

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority approved a list of projects that will receive a part of the $290 million from state surplus funds. Of that, $193 million will go toward the New Orleans-area hurricane protection system to help fulfill the state’s obligation for obtaining the land on which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building the protection system.

The list will now need to be approved through the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget before it’s final.

The remaining money will be split among a number of restoration and levee protection projects across the coast, said Garret Graves, authority chairman.

This money joins $200 million from state surplus funds in 2007 and $300 million in state surplus funds that were approved last year, bringing the total to $790 million in state surplus funds approved for state hurricane protection and coastal wetlands restoration work, he said.

Also included in the funding is money to continue work on various flood protection projects, barrier island maintenance and repair of some state restoration projects.

Some of these projects include $7.7 million for the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection system in Terrebonne Parish; $7.7 million for hurricane protection in lower Jefferson Parish and Lafitte; and $4.8 million for the Larose to Golden Meadow hurricane protection system in Lafourche Parish.

The funding also includes $11.6 million for a Cameron-Creole levee and coastal restoration project; $6.3 million for stabilizing portions of the Four-Mile Canal Vermilion; and $3.8 million for flood protection in Morgan City.

In other action Monday, the authority’s board approved a change in the Coastal Impact Assistance Program to reflect unexpected changes to offshore oil and gas activity in 2008.

CIAP was formed through the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and provides Louisiana and other oil- and gas-producing states a share of offshore revenues. The four-year program was put in place with the funding levels for fiscal year 2007 and 2008 being based on 2006 revenues, explained Greg Grandy, with the state Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration.

The next two years of the CIAP program have their funding based on the offshore revenues from 2008, he said.

However, a large lease sale in Alaska in 2008 meant that state is receiving a larger percentage of money than was expected, Grandy said.

That means Louisiana will receive $13.2 million less than expected — $8.6 million less for the state and $4.6 million less from the money that goes directly to the parishes.