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CPRA reports new construction starts, Bayou Lafourche pump upgrades and public comment on annual plan
Summary
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority staff reported new construction starts including shoreline protection at LaBranche, the Grand Bayou Ridge marsh-creation project, Bayou Lafourche pumping improvements and outreach milestones; public comment period for the draft annual plan is open through late March.
Glenn Ladev, executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), told the board on Feb. 19 that multiple restoration and protection projects moved into construction this month and that CPRA is collecting public comment on its draft annual plan.
Ladev said CPRA recorded two new engineering-and-design starts this month and that the agency is “back up to 109 active projects,” including 37 projects in construction, 68 in engineering and design and four planning studies. He highlighted the LaBranche Shoreline Protection Project in St. Charles Parish, a roughly $25,000,000 effort to install about 13,000 linear feet of rock dike and associated dredging; construction began in January, Ladev said. He also described the Grand Bayou Ridge and Marsh Creation Restoration Project in Plaquemines Parish, which began construction Jan. 12 and has a construction contract with Wicks Marine with an estimated cost of about $62,400,000 for approximately 356 acres of marsh creation and about 10,657 linear feet of forested ridge.
The director gave a detailed update on several other efforts: the Terrebonne HNC Bird Island restoration (rock dike work complete and dredging to follow), river reintroduction pumping capacity improvements for Bayou Lafourche (phase 2 pumping upgrades to add about 1,500 cubic feet per second and later dredging), and a Bayou Pigeon boat-launch recreation project in the Atchafalaya Basin that will add seven boat slips and improved parking. Ladev said the Bayou Lafourche Freshwater District is leading the pump improvements with CPRA and the state Department of Environmental Quality supporting via a revolving loan program.
Ladev also reported a $5,000,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the Chandelier Island restoration project and summarized volunteer and outreach activities, including a Super Bowl living-shoreline volunteer build in Lafourche Parish with NFL Green and a large high-school career outreach event at the LSU Center for River Studies.
On the draft annual plan, Ladev said CPRA held three in-person public meetings (Lake Charles, Houma and Jefferson) and one virtual meeting, with roughly 200 total attendees and 43 comments received as of the Feb. 19 board meeting. The public comment window was described to the board as closing in late March; staff said the draft annual plan will return to the CPRA board for consideration on April 16 and, if approved, be presented to the legislature. Ladev urged submission of comments via email (coastal@la.gov), the CPRA website, or mail before the stated deadline.
The presentation closed with reminders about the Atchafalaya master-plan project solicitation (deadline Feb. 28), the rescheduled federal “fly-in” advocacy trip being coordinated by Neil McMillan, Coastal Day at the Legislature on May 12 and the State of the Coast Conference in May 2025.
CPRA staff answered no board questions on the implementation update at the time of the presentation.
