For Immediate Release: April 17, 2008
Contact: Chris Macaluso
(225) 342-3968
chris.macaluso@la.gov

BATON ROUGE -- The Louisiana Senate Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously to advance the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Plan Thursday at the State Capitol.

CPRA Chairman Garret Graves delivered a short presentation outlining the array of coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects in the plan and the estimated costs for each. In all, more than $224 million in projects are identified in the plan to be funded during the 2009 fiscal year.

Members of the House Transportation Committee were present as well but Legislative rules prohibited them from voting to advance the plan, listed as SCR-24, until the next scheduled committee meeting which will be held next Monday.

By statute, the Fiscal Year Annual Plan must be approved by both the Senate and House Committees on Natural Resources and Transportation before advancing to the full House and Senate for approval. Entitled "Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Plan: Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection in Coastal Louisiana," the State Legislature can vote to adopt or reject the plan in its entirety but cannot amend the plan.

The Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Plan can be read by clicking here.

An annual plan will be presented to the public and the State Legislature for every year during which projects within the State's Comprehensive Coastal Restoration and Hurricane Protection Master Plan will be built. The annual plan identifies individual projects that are ready to be designed or constructed during the coming fiscal year and the projected cost for each.

For more information about the Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Plan and Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for Coastal Restoration and Hurricane Protection, please contact Chris Macaluso at (225) 342-3968 or by email at chris.macaluso@la.gov.

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The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's mandate is to develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration master plan. For the first time in Louisiana's history, this single state authority will integrate coastal restoration and hurricane protection by marshalling the expertise and resources of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation and Development, and other state agencies, to speak with one clear voice for the future of Louisiana's coast. Working with federal, state and local political subdivisions, including levee districts, the CPRA will work to establish a safe and sustainable coast that will protect our communities, the nation's critical energy infrastructure, and our bountiful natural resources for generations to come. The CPRA of Louisiana was established by Act 8 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of 2005