(The Center Square) — The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project is still being held up by lawsuits and public concern.
Gov. Jeff Landry testified to that concern in front of the Senate Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee.
“This project is going to destroy our culture,” Landry said. “It destroys the shrimping industry, which is already struggling, it destroys the oyster beds. The government says ‘no worries, we’re going to pay you not to shrimp, not to oyster or fish.”
“The project is noted to wipe out communities and have negative impacts on historical communities in that area,” Landry continued.
When the project was first proposed it was expected to cost $1.5 billion. The bill now requires $3.1 billion.
Touted as a transformative solution for Louisiana’s vanishing coastline, the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project has become a battleground of economic optimism, environmental urgency and mounting legal and political disputes.
The project, funded largely by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement, promises both ecological and economic rewards.
By reconnecting the sediment-rich Mississippi River to eroding coastal basins, the diversion aims to restore critical land, offering protection against flooding and storm surges.
However, the project is embroiled in controversy. Environmentalists and scientists advocate for its completion, citing Louisiana’s urgent need for large-scale, science-based restoration efforts.
“This is the kind of bold, impactful solution our coastline needs,” said Simone Maloz, campaign director for Restore the Mississippi River Delta.
But lawsuits from Plaquemines Parish and commercial fishing groups stalled construction just months after its groundbreaking in August 2023.
The parish alleges the diversion will exacerbate flooding and raise insurance rates, while other groups claim the project violates environmental laws and threatens species like bottlenose dolphins and sea turtles.
The uncertainty has also sparked debate among state leaders. Landry has expressed skepticism, citing cost overruns and potential impacts on other coastal projects. He questioned whether it’s fair for this single project to dominate resources at the expense of smaller restoration efforts statewide.
“We’re looking at a project that could cost $5 billion, with $2.1 billion falling on Louisiana taxpayers,” Landry said. “All the other projects in parishes along the coast, is it fair to the folks in St Bernard, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermillion, Cameron? That we’d suck up all the money along with the cost for those projects because we didn’t take our time with this project, to try and reach a compromise?”
Landry also suggested the state could challenge any federal demand to return settlement funds if the project is abandoned, saying, “It’s our money, and I’d be happy to sue them if they try to take it.”
Despite these challenges, federal agencies overseeing the settlement, including NOAA, insist the project is critical to protecting Louisiana’s communities and natural resources from worsening vulnerabilities.
Economically, a report by Dr. Loren Scott & Associates projects significant regional benefits during the five years of construction, including nearly 1,900 new construction jobs in the third year alone, alongside $117.9 million in household earnings and $345.8 million in sales.
Retail and health care sectors also stand to gain, with hundreds of new jobs expected.
“This project is about more than just land restoration — it’s about economic revitalization for the entire region,” Scott said.
