The Master Plan - Louisiana Chain Islands

  • Self-funding Cat 7 "Real" Barrier Islands
  • 4 mile long 25 foot tall sea wall protected Habitat Building/Planned Developments
  • Self-funding overseas toll-roads funnel traffic thru I-149 Gulfport, Mississippi
  • First line of defense against surges for populated areas of Southeast Louisiana
  • Wayside wave barriers built to support "Wind Energy Farms"
  • Quadruples Louisiana's water front property inventory while providing solid "Big One" protection for Metro New Orleans Area
  • Economic Impact – 4 Isles = 1 Galveston Island, approximately $500 million in taxes. 1,200 jobs per island

Hurricane Katrina opened the eyes of most Louisiana citizens and every Catastrophic Risk Manger in the world. Unfortunately, after two years of analyzation, no plan has been presented to take into account the BIG ONE, a Category 3+ Hurricane that comes straight up the Mississippi River into the Greater New Orleans area. The current line of thought in planning is to rely on four lines of defense, Barrier Islands, Natural Ridges, Marsh Lands and Levees. Unfortunately, none of the above will provide complete protection for both us and this Historic American City. The facts are clear; a Category 3+ storm will completely submerse the entire wetlands estuary system, including ridges and the proposed MRGO rock dike, with more than 12-15 feet of water a full 15 hours prior to its arrival. Eye witness accounts prove this is exactly what happened during Katrina; storm tides brought water levels to the top of our levee system as early as the evening of August 30th, 2005. The preceding also debunks the premise that the MRGO is a conduit for storm surge, for it is theoretically impossible for a waterway under 15 feet of water to be used as a conduit – in this situation, it no longer exists! The bottom line is: we either engineer protection based on storm surges above this 15 foot storm tide or we leave this city and let it pass into history.

Protection for the city of New Orleans must take into account that nature’s barrier islands (sand scholes) are not considered protection from Category 3+ storm surges! The city of Galveston and the state of Texas planned for this massive force of nature and so must Louisiana! Its time to build REAL BARRIER ISLANDS, with 25 foot high seawall with planned developments that will allow the real estate to fund “True” barrier protection for the Greater New Orleans area. The preceding will not only provide a true first line of defense for the New Orleans area, but also create a permanent economic engine to help stabilize our economy for centuries to come!