CPRA Board OKs Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Plan

February 23, 2018

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Board (CPRA) convened in Baton Rouge earlier this week to approve the Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Plan, a 3-year outlook of projected revenues and expenditures, project activity and implementation schedules.

In a presentation to the board, CPRA Executive Director Michael Ellis reported that CPRA facilitated three public hearings: January 8th, Belle Chasse, January 9th in Houma and January 10th in Lake Charles, to present and invite public comment on the FY 2019 Draft Annual Plan.

Following the Board’s approval today, the FY 2019 Annual Plan will be submitted to the legislature, March, 2018 regular session.

The plan projects revenues of $653 million and expenditures of $566 million in FY2019, with two projects in planning, 42 projects in design and 21 projects that will begin or continue construction.

Project-associated expenses of $485.4 million in FY19 account for 86% of expenditures, of which 51% or $289 million will go toward the construction of projects.

FY20 projection for total expenditures is $914 million, of which 90% are project-associated expenditures, and FY21 projection for total expenditures is $826 million, with 89% identified as project-associated expenditures.

Atchafalaya Basin Program Annual Plan approved for FY2019

The CPRA Board unanimously passed a resolution approving the Atchafalaya Basin Program Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2019 since none of its projects conflict with the State Coastal Master Plan.

The five priority projects in the Atchafalaya Basin plan include Grand Lake Depth Restoration; East Grand Lake Upper Region; Flat Lake Study; Murphy Lake Depth Restoration; and the Buffalo Cove Water Management Project.

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion MOU

Kline also highlighted the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently executed with federal agencies, that aims to achieve a two-year permitting timeline for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project and sets a framework for establishing discipline and accountability in the environmental review and authorization process in accordance with the guidance from President Trump’s Executive Order 13807.