The Landry administration has stopped another sediment diversion project. The Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion Project would have used Mississippi River water and sediment to build wetlands on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish. A similar project called the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion was also cancelled this year. Charles Sutcliffe with the National Wildlife Federation is disappointed.
“When Mid-Barataria was canceled over the summer, it was a slap in the face, but I think this is worse because now we’ve got a pattern. We’re seeing that this administration is not supporting any sediment diversions, and they’re doing it in a way that it’s anti-science and anti-transparency,” Sutcliffe said.
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Director Gordon Dove says both projects have become too expensive. But Sutcliffe says the state planned on using BP Oil Spill settlement money. And he says these projects were essential to the long-term health of the coast.
“This is like somebody with the terminal illness calling a life-saving procedure, that is completely covered by their insurance, too expensive.
It makes no sense,” Sutcliffe said.
Sutcliff says every scientific study, planning document and engineering effort have confirmed the need for large-scale sediment diversion projects, but the Landry Administration believes they know better.
“Diversions have been crucial to every coastal master plan, because they actually address the root cause of the coastal land loss problem. They address the sediment starvation, they address the subsidence rates, and they can push back against sea level rise,” Sutcliffe explained.
The commercial fishing industry applauds the cancellation of these projects as they expressed concern about large volume of freshwater flowing into the sound. Dove says there are smaller diversion projects that can be successful, and he also says there’s a land-building projects in that same area using dredged sediment, including the Lake Borgne Marsh Creation Project.
