Green Articles
Sticking it to Louisiana
EDITORIAL : Times-Picayune : February 18, 2008
Louisiana is counting on Mississippi River diversion projects to revive its starving wetlands, and that's a mission that the rest of the nation needs to support.
After all, the loss of coastal wetlands and the storm buffer they provide isn't only a crisis for Louisiana; it puts fisheries, oil and gas networks and transportation corridors that serve the entire nation at risk.
That's why it is so frustrating that Louisiana is being expected to carry the burden of increased dredging costs arising from shoaling caused by the diversions. The Mississippi River Commission is taking the position that the state and the Army Corps of Engineers must pay those costs. Corps officials say that would require an increase in the agency's budget to pay for the dredging, and existing corps rules requires those costs to be passed on to the restoration programs' budgets.
If Louisiana must do so, it will seriously undermine vitally needed coastal restoration efforts. Dredging costs could add tens of millions to the cost of the projects, and a state official said that could shut down the federal Breaux Act 20 years before it is set to expire.
The Breaux Act is one of the sources of financing for coastal restoration projects, and it's being tapped for a number of smaller restoration projects.
Garret Graves, chairman of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and member of the Breaux Act task force, suggested turning the tables -- half-jokingly. The river commission, which oversees the use of the river and its tributaries, should be charged with alleviating the effects of levee and jetty construction on the river. That work cut off sediment that builds marsh, he said.
Melanie Goodman, the corps' Breaux Act program manager, replied that those decisions, made a century ago, are in the past and not subject to reimbursement.
That may be, but the effects of those decisions are still being felt today. The point Mr. Graves was making is valid: this isn't a problem that Louisiana created on its own, and it's not one it can solve on its own. Sticking Louisiana with the costs of additional dredging isn't fair. And the corps -- which is responsible for the loss of thousands of acres of wetlands -- ought to seek an increase in its dredging budget to accommodate the greater need.
Col. Al Lee, commander of the corps' New Orleans District office, said that deciding who will pay the dredging costs is a "delicate balance" between competing users of the river.
But this is like expecting Louisiana to pay twice -- once, years ago, when the river was altered and now, again, as some attempts are made to undo that damage.