$2 billion approved for Louisiana coastal work, despite paused major project

The Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority voted Wednesday to fully fund its nearly $2 billion spending plan for next fiscal year, despite more than a quarter of that money being tied up in a project that might never happen.

Gov. Jeff Landry ordered a 90-day pause last week on the nearly $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project, which would direct water and land-building alluvium from the Mississippi River into Barataria Bay. The governor has urged a decrease in the size and scope of the plan because of its expense and potential to adversely affect oyster beds and coastal fisheries 

The 2025-26 fiscal year budget the CPRA approved includes $573 million for the massive sediment diversion. The spending plan goes next to the legislature for final consideration.

The majority of funding for the Mid-Barataria project comes from the nearly $8 billion in settlement money awarded to the state after BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. The money is held in a trust overseen by the U.S. Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Those trustees sent a letter to CPRA executive director Glenn Ledet Jr. in November indicating the $2.26 billion already awarded for the Mid-Barataria diversion would be clawed back should the project stop. That means the state would have to “return those funds for future restoration activities.”

The CPRA testified in an Oct. 2024 state senate hearing to already spending around $519 million on the Mid-Barataria plan pre-construction costs and mitigation measures for communities and wildlife that stand to be impacted. Around $394 million of the money already spent went toward construction costs. 

The diversion project has led to lawsuits and political disputes. A group of environmentalists and Plaquemines Parish business owners has challenged the project in court, arguing federal agencies issued permits without taking into account its impact on aquatic species and fisheries. Plaquemines officials have sued separately, arguing the diversion project will increase flood risks in the parish.

CPRA Chairman Gordy Dove argued at Wednesday’s meeting that approving next year’s budget, despite the diversion project’s uncertainty, was essential to support other developments the authority has in the works. Dove, a former Terrebonne Parish president who Landry appointed in 2024 to lead the authority, has openly balked at the price tag for the major diversion.  

“This isn’t the first time a project has been held up,” Dove said, adding that money could be reallocated from Mid-Barataria to the 149 other projects the CPRA has proposed.

They include the Barataria Land Bridge, a structure made with sand dredged from the Mississippi River. Proponents say it’s a less intrusive alternative to the river diversion, while its detractors insist the benefits will be at a far smaller scale and not as long-lasting.

Other projects in the budget include flood risk management efforts in St. Tammany Parish, barrier Island restoration in Grand Isle and marsh creation projects in Bayou Cane and Lake Borgne.

Dwayne Bourgeois, the CPRA member representing Terrebonne Basin, questioned whether it was appropriate to approve a budget with such a large portion of its spending in limbo.         

“We’re voting on something that has a big gap in it, that’s undetermined. But I think at this point it’s unavoidable,” Bourgeois said, noting the need to provide money for other CPRA work. 

“We’ve got a pipeline running right now of all of these projects … I feel like I’ve got a gun to my head,” he added.

While funding for Mid-Barataria remains in the plan, Dove reiterated there has been “no decision made” on whether the project will get final approval. 

Advocacy groups showed up for the CPRA meeting at the State Capitol to support the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, which is considered the cornerstone project of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

“The state needs this project,” said Amanda Moore, senior director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf program. She said the project is “science-based” and “wildly popular” among Louisiana residents. 

Survey results from the advocacy group Restore the Mississippi River Delta released earlier this week show 83% of respondents approve of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion moving forward. Support for the project was bipartisan among the 800 registered Louisiana voters who responded to the surveys. 

Correction: Dwayne Bourgeois represents the Terrebonne Basin on the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.