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Committee hears CPRA update amid legal, funding questions over Mid‑Barataria diversion
Summary
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority officials told the committee project funding and construction for the Mid‑Barataria diversion are in flux as litigation and trustee funding allocations continue; officials said unspent federal trustee funds would be returned to the designated settlement pots if a project is halted or modified.
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) officials briefed the Joint Budget Committee on FY26 recommendations and answered detailed questions about the Mid‑Barataria diversion project, the largest coastal project in the agency’s plan.
CPRA Executive Director Glenn Lade and staff said roughly $400–$500 million has been spent to date on the project and that trustee funding committed for construction — National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and NRDA (Natural Resource Damage Assessment) allocations — total several hundred million dollars more. Lade said about $572 million of trustee funding is dedicated to construction in the draft annual plan and that unspent dollars would be returned to the trustees’ pools under the Deepwater Horizon settlement framework if a project were halted or materially altered.
Why it matters: The Mid‑Barataria diversion is controversial for its scale and potential effects on salinity and fisheries. Lawmakers pressed CPRA about contractual flexibility and legal exposure. CPRA representatives said contracts include provisions such as “terminate for convenience” and pause/modification clauses; they are consulting legal and federal trustee partners to manage risk and work through permit and litigation timelines.
Committee members also asked about alternate or smaller diversion operations to balance sediment delivery against potential harm to oysters and shrimp. Lade said the state is studying operational regimes and that smaller flows have been proposed as an adjustment strategy; he cautioned that litigation and trustee commitments constrain timelines.
CPRA also presented its FY26 appropriation request and staffing totals: the agency’s FY26 recommendation was $205.6 million, with roughly two‑thirds of that funding drawn from statutory dedications and grants; CPRA noted large year‑to‑year timing effects because major projects span multiple fiscal years.
Ending: CPRA said its draft annual plan (to be submitted to the legislature) includes other projects — such as a 23.5‑mile Barataria land bridge and long‑distance sediment pipelines — and officials promised further updates to the committee as legal and trustee processes proceed.
