"The plan must be updated every 6 years; this one includes several big new projects"
"A draft update of the state’s $50 billion coastal master plan predicts that 61 new projects to build or protect land, a dozen new levees, and new efforts to elevate, flood-proof or relocate flood-prone homes will reduce annual hurricane storm surge damages by at least $11 billion per year by 2073.
The plan includes calls for construction of projects long proposed to reduce flooding risk, such as a $2.4 billion concrete barrier and weir combination aimed at reducing surge entering Lake Pontchartrain through the Rigolets and Chef Menteur passes.
It also reverses some past decisions to not build major levees, including plans to protect portions of Iberia and St. Mary parishes from Gulf of Mexico surge; to dramatically upgrade levees surrounding the Lafitte area , and to protect portions of St. James and Ascension parishes, where sea level rise is expected to increase the threat of flooding from Lake Maurepas over the next 50 years."
Mark Schleifstein reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune January 6, 2023.
