The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is a governmental authority created by the Louisiana Legislature in the aftermath of Hurricanes
Katrina
Katrina or Katrine may refer to:
People
* Katrina (given name)
* Katrine (given name)
Meteorology
* List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina
** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
and
Rita
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
. The organization takes advantage of both federal and state funding of around $1 billion annually. Since its founding, the organization has dredged over 60 miles of sediment into islands and artificial land, as well as 36,000 acres of
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
land. CPRA predicts that over the next 50 years, over 1,450 square miles of land in Louisiana could be lost along coastal areas.
History
The creation of CPRA was ordered by Congress in . The CPRA's forerunner, the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority, was restructured as the CPRA by Act 8 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2005 when the tasks of coastal restoration and hurricane protection were consolidated under a single authority. The authority is responsible for overseeing all levee districts in the Louisiana Coastal Zone and dispersal of funding from Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Trust Fund to be used exclusively for wetland restoration and hurricane protection projects. Act 8 defines the CPRA's mandate as, "hurricane protection and the protection, conservation, restoration, and enhancement of coastal wetlands and barrier shorelines or reefs." Additionally, the act defined the term "coastal area" as the Louisiana Coastal Zone and contiguous areas that are subject to storm or tidal surge.
In April 2007, the CPRA submitted Louisiana's first ever Comprehensive Master Plan for coastal restoration and hurricane protection to the state's legislature for approval. The legislature approved the plan unanimously. Entitled: "Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection: Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast," the Master Plan represents an overarching vision that fully incorporates hurricane protection projects and structures with coastal wetland and hydrology restoration projects. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials will use the CPRA Master Plan as the cornerstone of the Congressionally mandated Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LaCPR) Report scheduled to be written and submitted to Congress by December 2007.
In 2012, an article in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
reviewed the current state of improvements to
defenses. August 24, 2015, an article in
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
titled ''"10 Years After Katrina, Louisiana Is Becoming A Model For Climate Resilience"'' summarized the current state of Louisiana's shoreline and coastal community protection.
Plan for a Sustainable Coast
Every five years CPRA must submit a revised plan to the state legislature. The current plan is th
2012 Master Plan a 190-page document. The agency is currently working on the 2017 plan.
Projects detailed in the plan fall into the following categories:
* Structural Protection
* Bank Stabilization
* Oyster Barrier Reefs
* Ridge Restoration
* Shoreline Protection
* Infrastructure
* Terraces
* Barrier Island Restoration
* Marsh Creation
* Sediment Diversion
* Hydrologic Restoration
Projects
There are many projects listed on both th
CPRAan
CWPPRAwebsites, and both sites have interactive maps to readily display projects.
Current members
Current members of the Board are listed on the agency website.
Districts
The following Levee Districts are overseen by the CPRA.
*
Atchafalaya Basin Levee District
*
Grand Isle Independent District
*
Lafourche Basin Levee District
*
North Lafouche Levee District
*
Plaquemines Parish Government
*
Pontchartrain Basin Levee District
*
South Lafourche Levee District
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
*
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority was established by Louisiana state laRevised Statute §38:330.1in September 2006. Its operation began in January 2007. The Authority consists of two regional levee boards which oversee flood protec ...
*
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West
*
St. Mary Parish Government
*
Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District
Additionally, decisions are pending on the Southwest Louisiana Parishes of
Cameron,
Vermillion
Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is v ...
and
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, PenÃnsula Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
.
See also
*
America's WETLAND Foundation
America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) was a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization with the stated mission to save and conserve coastal wetlands in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The organization aimed to achieve this mission through a public a ...
*
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) was passed by Congress in 1990 to fund wetland enhancement. In cooperation with multiple government agencies, CWPPRA is moving forward to restore the lost wetlands of the Gul ...
—CWPPRA (a federal agency)
References
External links
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA)€”official website (state agency)
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)€”official website (federal agency)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coastal Protection And Restoration Authority
State agencies of Louisiana
2005 establishments in Louisiana
Government agencies established in 2005