December 2015

The Conveyance Online
Restore or Retreat's E-newsletter
Restore or Retreat Executive Committee

Mike Plaisance, President

Plaisance Dragline and Dredging

 

Ted Falgout, VP

Ted M. Falgout and Associates

 

Robert Naquin, Treasurer

Latter and Blum 

 

Henri Boulet, Secretary

LA 1 Coalition

 

Tim Allen

Apache Louisiana Minerals

 

Charlotte Bollinger

Bollinger Shipyards

 

Berwick Duval

Duval, Funderburk, Sundbery, Lovell and Watkins

 

Dr. John J. Jones, Jr.

Jones Dermatology

Calendar
State's Annual Plan 
Released January 2014

Public Hearings 
January 12- Lake Charles 
January 13- New Orleans 
January 14- Thibodaux

Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority 
January 13

CWPPRA Region IV Planning Team Meeting
January 26 11:00 am
Estuarine Fisheries and Habitat Center Conference Room, Lafayette

CWPPRA Region III Planning Team Meeting
January 27 9:00 am
Terrebonne Parish Library

CWPPRA Region I and II Planning Team Meeting
January 28 8:00 am
USFWS Southeast Louisiana Refuges Complex (Big Branch), Lacombe
 
It's Not Too Late to Try ROR'S Swamp Slammer Burger! 


Throughout the month of December, Alumni Grill in Thibodaux will be donating a percentage of sales of the Burger of the Month to Restore or Retreat.  


The Swamp Slammer will feature a beef patty topped with BBQ shrimp and lettuce on a sweet sourdough bun. 


Owner and Chef Minh Le of Alumni Grill
transferred to Nicholls State University when the culinary program was in its infancy.  Externships and work took him across the country and to the top restaurants in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. 
Le opened his own restaurant, The Alumni Grill, serving burgers, salads, tacos, and barbecue lunch specials.
Through the Burger of the Month program, Le has already donated over $7000 back to his community.


Swing by Alumni today, and try the Swamp Slammer for yourself!!
In the News
CPRA 
2017 Master Plan
Technical Webinar
Quick Links
Thank you for your support in 2015!
We are grateful for your support of our mission to implement large scale restoration projects for our irreplaceable region, and we look forward to an exciting 2016!


For a list of our members, please click here.  
If you are interested in supporting ROR, 
including end of year giving, click here.
RESTORE Council approves first funded priority list; $52m for LA

Earlier this month, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council voted to approve the Initial Funded Priorities List (FPL), one of their responsibilities outlined in the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 or RESTORE Act. The FPL includes funding for seven projects in Louisiana totaling approximately $52 million.

The Coastal Master Plan projects receiving funding include:
  • Golden Triangle Marsh Creation Project ($4.3 million; planning)
  • Mississippi River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp Project ($14.2 million; planning)
  • Biloxi Marsh Living Shoreline Project ($3.2 million; planning)
  • West Grand Terre Beach Nourishment and Stabilization Project ($7.3 million; planning)
  • Lowermost Mississippi River Management Program ($9.3 million; planning)
Two additional projects, Jean Lafitte Canal Backfilling ($8.7 million; implementation) and Bayou Dularge Ridge, Marsh and Hydrologic Restoration ($5.2 million; planning) are also located in Louisiana. These two projects, submitted for funding by federal members of the Council, are complementary to and consistent with the master plan and will directly benefit coastal Louisiana.
 
In addition to voting on the FPL, the Council also voted to approve the Spill Impact Component Rule. The approval will direct nearly 35 percent of funding allocated to this component of the RESTORE Act from both the Transocean settlement ($244.8 million) and the Clean Water Act civil penalties outlined in the proposed consent decree with BP ($1.32 billion) to Louisiana, resulting in approximately $541 million for the coastal program. The rule will become effective once the consent decree is finalized. Upon finalization funds currently available from the Transocean settlement, amounting to almost $85 million, will become accessible for projects included in the state's multiyear implementation plan.
Economic Evaluation of LA Landloss
from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority

Louisiana's degrading coastal environment is making the state more vulnerable to hurricane damage, and in 50 years a Katrina-type storm could cause more than more than $133 billion in damage, says a report commissioned by the state and presented to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).

The two-year study conducted by the LSU Economics and Policy Research Group and the RAND Corporation quantified economic impacts of ongoing and future land loss in Louisiana, demonstrating a need and justification for Coastal Master Plan project expenditures that can save billions during future storm events.  

"Every dollar we spend today on coastal restoration and protection will save us many, many more dollars in the future," said CPRA Board Chairman Chip Kline. "But beyond being cost-feasible, we're talking about saving lives, families, homes, business and our way of life. This study by LSU and RAND is important in making our case to Congress and the nation that it is better for many reasons to spend now rather than later." 

The report examines potential economic implications of Louisiana's land loss through a spatial analysis that layered future land loss and storm surge scenarios from the 2012 Coastal Master Plan onto today's economy. The researcher's approach examined both fixed assets and flows of economic activity occurring within the coastal zone as well as their cascading effects throughout the state and the nation. 

Findings from the study include replacement costs to commercial, residential, and network infrastructure directly resulting from land loss from $2.1 billion in a moderate environmental scenario after 25 years to $3.5 billion in a less optimistic environmental scenario after 50 years. Direct land loss also has the potential to impact business activities in Louisiana and around the nation in a range from $5.8 billion in a moderate environmental scenario after 25 years to $7.4 billion in a less optimistic environmental scenario in 50 years. These direct impacts to the economy due to land loss include disruptions at between 807 and 1,182 business structures and put at risk between 8,801 and 12,234 jobs.

Impacts to the economy due to increased storm damage were found by the researchers to be much more severe. Increases in storm damages to fixed assets range from less than $10 billion in a hypothetical western track storm to over $133 billion in a hypothetical eastern track storm hitting after 50 years in the less optimistic environmental scenario. The study also quantifies the storm damage impacts to economic activity in a future without action. The range of these impacts was found to be between $5 billion and $51 billion nationwide from a single storm event. Under the harshest environmental conditions in 50 years, disruptions to the economy from single storm events occurring on Louisiana's degraded coastline could put at risk as many as 78,000 jobs representing $4.6 billion in wages, and increases in the price of gasoline that would cost the nation between $2.3 and $2.6 billion. 

This study also includes discussions of the value of ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands, commodity flows by transportation mode in coastal Louisiana, considerations on business survival post disaster, and recommendations for future research. 

This study would not have been possible without the input and expertise provided by the Coastal Master Plan team and the other steering committee members including Dr. Denise Reed of the Water Institute of the Gulf, Robin Barnes of GNO, Inc., David Conner of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, Dr. Timothy Ryan, Chett Chaisson with Port Fourchon, and King Milling, chairman of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation.

Files for the executive summary, full report, and appendix are available today at 
THANK YOU to our supporters who allow us to continue working daily to save this irreplaceable region!
 
Sincerely,

Simone Maloz

Executive Director

 

John Lombardo

Outreach Coordinator