A fight between the Army Corps of Engineers and the state over who controls the science governing construction of nearly $2 billion in coastal restoration projects has led the corps to order closure of the Louisiana Coastal Area Science & Technology Office by Oct. 1.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/07/corps_of_engineers_closing_lou.html
The heart of this dispute is that the state does not want real science done on the coast. It wants the money funneled to local research programs which are careful to support the state’s favored projects.