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Louisiana's defense plan: Bulked-up islands
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The barrier island plan was made public on Saturday by Gov. Bobby Jindal, who said his staff was also working hard to make it happen. At a news conference in Venice, near the Gulf tip of Plaquemines Parish, Jindal credited Nungesser with developing the plan and said he supported it fully. A far more limited version of the plan had been in the works for several years, but Nungesser said the oil threat led to the expansion and heightened sense of immediacy. He also said a Dutch dredging firm came to the parish last week and helped officials develop a more expansive plan.
Garret Graves, chairman of the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said the state had worked on the proposal with the joint oil spill commission led by the Coast Guard and BP but not with the EPA or the White House. He said that numerous state and federal permits would be needed before major dredging could begin but that there wouldn't be any problems obtaining them from the state. Officials might have to apply for the federal permits while the works begins, he said.
Graves said the threat of long-term or permanent damage to the marshes was real and required forceful action. He also said the state had been hampered in its efforts to protect its 77,000 miles of winding coastline because of a significant shortage in booms.
Nungesser, who spent two hours with President Obama when he visited Louisiana and has also met at length with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, said he was optimistic the administration would help expedite the approval process. A self-styled "Reagan Republican," he said that he was deeply impressed by Obama's willingness to come to his parish, by his knowledge of the problem and by what he called "his very obvious desire to help."
But it was unclear Sunday how the White House would respond to such a dramatic request involving such a sensitive environment.
Bringing tons of sand, and even Mississippi River sediment, out to fragile barrier islands is sure to be controversial with environmental advocates. It also might not work. The barrier islands, five to 10 miles offshore, are much smaller than they used to be because of hurricanes -- but more importantly because of changes in the environment created by the levees, jetties and canals built to control the Mississippi and to enable oil and gas exploration and drilling.
Aaron Viles, an environmental leader who heads the Louisiana-based Gulf Restoration Network, said that he understands why local leaders are pushing for a large dredging and island-building plan but that he worries about the consequences.
"BP has created a situation where there are no good answers," he said. "Rebuilding the barrier islands slowly and carefully is a very good idea. Doing it quickly could make a bad situation worse."
Staff writer Eli Saslow contributed to this report.
