mid barataria sediment diversion

An aerial view of the Wax Lake Delta on the coast of Louisiana. The delta is one of the few places along Louisiana’s coast that is building land instead of losing it.

‘A living laboratory’: An accidental delta taught Louisiana scientists how to rebuild wetlands

Eva Tesfaye

While the science is clear – wetlands have lots of benefits and we know how to build more of them – the future is not. The growing Wax Lake Delta provided data for the now-stalled Mid-Barataria sediment diversion, which is designed to rebuild wetlands in nine parishes along the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Chairman Bren Haase, CPRA Executive Director Greg Grandy and Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project Manager Brad Barth among other officials pose for a picture shoveling dirt at the sediment diversion's groundbreaking ceremony in Plaquemines Parish, just north of Ironton, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

Coastal Desk

$3B land-building project breaks ground in Louisiana; aims to reconnect Mississippi River to marsh

Halle Parker

Louisiana broke ground on a nearly $3 billion coastal restoration project that aims to rebuild the broken marshes on Plaquemines Parish’s west bank by reconnecting the area to the land-building power of the Mississippi River.

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Chairman Chip Kline speaks at the Bayou Chene Floodgate ceremony in April 2022.

Coastal Desk

Louisiana top coastal official resigns in final months of Edwards’ term

Halle Parker

Louisiana’s top coastal restoration official declared his plans to resign during a speech at one of the state’s largest coastal conferences on Wednesday. Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority chairman Chip Kline marks the latest of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ appointees to step down from their position as the Democratic governor’s term nears its close in January 2024.

Coastal Desk

Louisiana coastal authority secures $2B to fund first-of-its-kind sediment diversion

Halle Parker

Louisiana will receive more than $2 billion to pay for an ambitious, first-of-its-kind plan to reconnect the Mississippi River to the degraded marshes on Plaquemines Parish’s west bank.

An aerial view of broken wetlands in Plaquemines Parish. Projections by Climate Central indicate that the parish could lose another 100,000 acres of wetlands by the end of the century.

Coastal Desk

Army Corps greenlights Louisiana’s $2.2 billion sediment diversion to combat land loss

Halle Parker

In a historic decision, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed off on Louisiana’s $2.2 billion plan to divert muddy Mississippi River water into Plaquemines Parish’s degraded wetlands to rebuild land on Monday.

An aerial shot of wetlands in southeast Louisiana.

Coastal Desk

A final verdict on a $2.2B bid to rebuild Louisiana's lower third is closer than ever

Halle Parker

After nearly 40 years, a final decision on the state’s $2.2 billion bid to reconnect the Mississippi River to the sediment-starved marshes on Plaquemines Parish’s east bank is closer than ever.

On the east bank of Plaquemines Parish, across the river from the small town of Buras, a new cut known as Neptune Pass, a new cut in the river bank has opened and is growing rapidly, stirring concerns from all levels of government and disagreement over its future.

Coastal Desk

Louisiana, coastal advocates push the Corps to keep a new cut in the Mississippi River open

Halle Parker

Louisiana’s coastal authority and advocates continue to fight the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the future of a new cut along the Mississippi River on Plaquemines Parish’s east bank. The final decision on whether the channel will remain open looms, with the potential to come down in the next few months, and, as it stands, the odds aren’t in their favor.

A specially cultivated oyster from the waters around Grand Isle.

Coastal Desk

Q&A: How Louisiana's Oyster Industry Could Get A $132 Million Boost

Tegan Wendland

Oysters are a staple of Louisiana’s culture and cuisine, but because of storms, engineering and river flooding, the industry has been struggling for…

Coastal Desk

Study: Sediment Diversions Could Inject Billions Into Local Economy

Travis Lux

The state’s proposed sediment diversions could inject billions of dollars into the regional economy, according to a new study sponsored by an…

Coastal Desk

Mid-Barataria Diversion Project Delayed

Travis Lux

The state’s cornerstone coastal restoration project has been delayed. The announcement was made in Baton Rouge at the monthly Coastal Protection and…