Corps Recommends Closing MR-GO
The New Orleans Times Picayune posted a story to their web site on July 3, 2007 at 7:45 PM stating that the Corps of Engineers has formally recommended to Congress that the Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet ("MR-GO") be closed. MR-GO is a 60 mile long shipping channel running from the Louisiana coast to the Industrial Canal in New Orleans. Construction on MR-GO started in 1958 and was completed in 1968. The canal was designed to be 36 feet deep and 500 feet wide.
>> Continue Reading Posted In Coastal/Wetlands Issues , Corps of Engineers , Hurricane Katrina , New Orleans/Louisiana RecoveryPermalink
Legislature Adopts Master Plan for Coastal Restoration and Hurricane Protection
On June 1, 2007, the Louisiana Legislature unanimously passed the state's first comprehensive master plan for coastal restoration and hurricane protection. In response, the governor has asked the legislature to commit $200 million of the state's surplus to the coastal fund and allow for the securitization of the tobacco settlement funds, of which 20% is constitutionally dedicated to the coastal fund. The new master plan is entitled, "Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection: Louisiana's Comprehensive Plan for a Sustainable Coast."
>> Continue Reading Posted In Coastal/Wetlands Issues , Corps of Engineers , Louisiana In GeneralPermalink
Three Reports Due This Summer From Army Corps of Engineers
The new chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. General Robert Van Antwerp, told a New Orleans audience on Thursday May 31, 2007 that three important reports would be released by the Corps this summer. The first report due in June is a comprehensive study of the vulnerability of low lying areas of coastal Louisiana to future hurricanes. This report will show residents of the low lying area how their homes will do during about 150 hypothetical storms.
>> Continue Reading Posted In Coastal/Wetlands Issues , Corps of Engineers , New Orleans/Louisiana RecoveryPermalink