Disappearing Coastline Is a Crisis and an Emergency, Louisiana’s Governor Says

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on April 19 signed an emergency proclamation declaring the Louisiana Coast is in a state of crisis and emergency.

The emergency proclamation sent to President Donald Trump and members of Congress is intended to raise awareness of the crisis of Louisiana’s disappearing coastline, and to highlight priority restoration projects with the level of urgency those projects require.

According to the governor’s office, an estimated 2,250 square miles of coastal Louisiana is expected to be lost in the next 50 years if immediate and urgent action is not taken to reverse the trend. Coastal shorelines, marshes and swamps serve as a vital barrier and a first line of defense against storm surge and flooding along the Louisiana coast.

Louisiana’s coast is home to more than half of the state’s population and significant industries that provide jobs, taxes and products that are important to the well-being and economic productivity of the entire state, the governor’s announcement stated. These coastal resources are also vital to the national interest in the areas of energy, chemicals, international trade, fisheries and national defense.

“The Louisiana coast is in a state of crisis that demands immediate and urgent action to avert further damage to one of our most vital resources,” Edwards said in announcing the proclamation. “Immediately addressing this crisis will rejuvenate Louisiana’s economy and provide benefits across generations and positively impact the nation’s economy, including energy production, transportation and refining, intermodal commerce and trade, fisheries, disaster resilience, and natural resources.”

With the proclamation and a letter previously sent to President Trump by the governor, the state aims to secure efficiencies in the current permitting process at the state level; to garner formal and increased attention from President Trump and federal agencies of Louisiana’s coastal crisis; and to solicit support from Congress to pass changes to federal regulations to expedite all federal permitting and environmental review, including creation of waivers, categorical exemptions, alternative measures or expedited processes.

Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Activities and Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Chairman Johnny Bradberry had asked the governor to issue the proclamation.