Updated
Category: Coastal Restoration
Vegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2013
Small Scale River Diversions
The Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plan proposes to build a small number of large river diversions. Another approach is to create small breaks in the levees to allow overflow into wetlands during floods that more closely resembles natural processes. This would…
Sea Level Rise Affects on Marshes
Sea Level Rise Affecting Marshes Model John D Boon, John M Brubaker & David R Forrest, Chesapeake Bay land subsidence and sea level change, App. Mar. Sci. and Ocean Eng., Report 1–73 (2010).
URS – The Direct Impact of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet on Hurricane Storm Surge
This post has materials that explain why the MRGO did not increase the flooding of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Discretionary authority defense applies to admiralty cases – MRGO admiralty claims dismissed
In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., No. 14-30060, 2015 WL 3407410 (5th Cir. May 28, 2015) – 5th Circuit reviews standard for discretionary authority defense and finds that applies to cases brought against the Federal government under the admiralty laws.…
Coastal Restoration as Keynesian Spending – Building Jobs in Louisiana with Other People’s Money
The key to understanding Louisiana Coastal Restoration is to forget wetlands and floods and look at the money. Pretty much all of the money for coastal restoration and related “resiliency” projects is intended to come from other people, primarily the…
NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program – Science Plan
NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program – Science Plan (2015) This is mostly vague generalities, but there is a pointed criticism of diversions on page 20: The impacts of diversions must be vigorously studied before actions are taken. For example, redistribution…
Wetland Restoration and Community-Based Development Bayou Bienvenue, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans
Wetland Restoration and Community-Based Development Bayou Bienvenue, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans. Water Resources Management Practicum 2007 Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin–Madison August 2008. Follow-up study: Wetland Restoration and Community-Based Development Bayou Bienvenue, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans.…
Legal resources for coastal erosion and marsh destruction claims
Also see: Louisiana Levee Board Coastal Erosion Law Suit; Louisiana Parish Lawsuits Against the Oil Industry for Wetlands Destruction Law Professor’s Brief on Louisiana Public Trust Doctrine Terrebonne Parish Sch. Bd. v. Castex Energy, Inc., 893 So. 2d 789 (La 2005) “We…
Natural Cycles and the Mississippi Delta – A Voice Annotated Slideshow
Virtual Guest Lecturer. Using Natural Cycles to Make Better Decisions about Adaptation to Climate Change: The Future of the Louisiana Coast. Mercer Law School, March 2015 – YouTube The slides
Topographic Map Showing Louisiana Risks from Sea Level Rise
State of Louisiana—Highlighting Low-Lying Areas Derived from USGS Digital Elevation Data (large file) In support of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) disaster preparedness efforts, this map depicts a color shaded relief representation highlighting the State of Louisiana and depicts the surrounding areas…
The True Cost of Louisiana Coastal Restoration
Turning Coastal Restoration and Protection Plans Into Realities: The Cost of Comprehensive Coastal Restoration and Protection, An Issue Paper of the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, August 18, 2014 “When one includes the anticipated costs of the…
Land Area Changes in Coastal Louisiana After the 2005 Hurricanes: A Series of Three Maps
Moderator – Katrina demonstrated that a hurricane can destroy newly created delta land, undermining the notion that this land can protect against hurricane surge. It also shows that even the best case for land building – Wax Lake and mouth…
Video – Faults and the Mississippi Delta — Rethinking Coastal Restoration
Also see: Faults Faults and the Mississippi Delta — Rethinking Coastal Restoration This is a 80 minute video of a presentation on the geology of the Mississippi Delta that was presented in a class at the LSU Law School. The speaker…
Faulting and Tectonic Subsidence on the Louisiana Coast – Goose Point
Also see: Faults Haggar, K. S., 2014, Coastal land loss and landscape level plant community succession: An expected result of natural tectonic subsidence, fault movement, and sea level rise: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 64, p. 139–159. Coastal…
Restoring the Gulf of Mexico for People and Wildlife – More Climate Change Denial
National Wildlife Federation: Restoring the Gulf of Mexico for People and Wildlife: Recommended Projects and Priorities (2014) [Some of the inland projects do make sense, such as dealing with the water flow into the Everglades. But the coastal projects all…
Community Resettlement Prospects in Southeast Louisiana
Community Resettlement Prospects in Southeast Louisiana: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Legal, Cultural, and Demographic Aspects of Moving Individuals and Communities. An Issue Paper of the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy September 2014. From the report: This paper…
Community Resettlement Prospects in Southeast Louisiana
Community Resettlement Prospects in Southeast Louisiana: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Legal, Cultural, and Demographic Aspects of Moving Individuals and Communities This paper is a multidisciplinary approach to framing the potential for community resettlement in Southeast Louisiana. The paper has three…
The Delta Cycle and the Future of Coastal Louisiana
Chris McLindon and Edward Richards – Board of Commissioners of SLFPA-E vs. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., et.al. – Legal and Geological Evaluation (View in slide show mode to see the animations.) This is a summary presentation of the issues: Time and River:Coastal…
Reducing Coastal Risks on the East and Gulf Coasts – NRC
National Research Council. Reducing Coastal Risks on the East and Gulf Coasts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2014. National Vision Needed to Achieve Comprehensive Risk Reduction Along Atlantic and Gulf Coasts WASHINGTON – A national vision for coastal risk…
River Diversion Research Articles
The Changing Course competition for alternatives to the Master Plan It is interesting that none of the reports by the teams were published by Changing Course groups. This is the one I was able to find: A DELTA FOR ALL:…
Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) – History and Restoration
History Albert E Cowdrey, Land’s End, a History of the New Orleans District US Army Corps of Engineers, and Its Lifelong Battle With the Lower Mississippi and Other Rivers Wending Their Way To the Sea. US Army Corps of Engineers.…
The Mississippi River Delta Cycle and Coastal Restoration
Click here – Video of a presentation by Prof. Edward Richards to the LSU Mineral Law Institute on the delta cycle and the coastal erosion lawsuit. (1.3gb file – works best if you download it before playing. Otherwise it…
Stupid Coastal Restoration Schemes
The land is subsiding and the ocean is rising. Let’s fix this by putting heavy stuff on the bottom of the ocean. http://wwno.org/post/restoring-coast-creating-oyster-beds-st-bernard-parish Maybe we can fix it by building a dam in front of the marsh: http://www.djc.com/news/en/12070163.html Sewage diversions –…
Court rejects EPA Water Transfers Rule
Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. U.S. E.P.A. An excellent review of the Water Transfers Rule.
Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion
Caernavron Diversion Location Feasibility Report on Freshwater Diversion·to Barataria and Breton Sound Basins, June 1984. Feasibility Report on Freshwater Diversion·to Barataria and Breton Sound Basins, August 1984. Feasibility Report on Freshwater Diversion·to Barataria and Breton Sound Basins, September 1984. C19840314-Sediment…
Corps solicits comments on mid-Barataria diversion
Solicitation for comments – mid-Barataria diversion
Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico – EIS Resources
Review Plan for the Post Authorization Change Decision Document of the Mississippi River and Tributaries, Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Protection Project, LA – 2011 Final Independent External Peer Review Report for the Mississippi River and Tributaries, Morganza…
Why Coastal Restoration Cannot Succeed
This article goes to the heart of the problem. Sea level rise pushes the wetlands inland. If you have barriers, the wetlands drown. The only thing the coastal restoration folks care about is building levees, but if they only push…