Guv: $350M for coastal restoration

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Jan. 23 plans to spend more than $350M in surplus state monies and offshore federal oil revenue to pay for coastal restoration and hurricane risk reduction projects – including the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain levee - over the next three years. The proposal, which has to be approved by the legislature, would tap $55M of leftover monies from FY 2018, and monies from the state’s share of offshore oil revenue. Louisiana would use $30M to pay its share of land acquisition and related costs for the 18-mile, $760M West Shore levee, which likely would pave the way for the Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) to begin construction, Edwards said. Several of the projects proposed are part of the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority’s FY-20 proposed annual plan that outlines $780M for projects included in Louisiana’s coastal Master Plan. Last August, CoE officials said construction of the West Shore levee could begin in early 2021 and be completed by mid-2023. The state would also have to provide 35 percent of the levee’s construction costs over 30 years, once completed. (Source: NOLA.com 01/23/19)