How can we be protected from storm surge?
Most of us in St. Tammany don’t think of our Lake Pontchartrain shoreline as “coast”. But it is. We live on an estuary. It is part of an intricate ecosystem that developed thousands of years ago that evolved into a series of water bodies. St. Tammany had one of the largest coastal wetland areas remaining in Lake Pontchartrain. “The formation of these coastal marshes is dated at 4,365 years ago....”1 One segment in our defense against storm surge is the series of barrier islands known as the Chandeleur Islands which started to form approximately 2,000 years ago. Today, those islands have been terribly damaged and cannot protect us as they used to. This subjects our coast to more storm surge.
In the early 1990's some scientists had already sounded the alarm about the Louisiana Gulf coast and a large swath of the northshore’s coast had been submerged by lake waters. The League of Women Voters of St. Tammany protested many of the projects that destroyed wetlands and marsh areas. Hurricane Katrina sounded a wake up call heard loud and clear. Storm surge swept across the parish’s coast and destroyed everything in its path. Parish Government is currently looking at storm protection for St. Tammany. Various protection projects have been discussed. Parish President Kevin Davis has stated, “We must find a solution that protects our region without having an unacceptable impact on the environment.” Our coastal scientists tell us that without wetlands in front of them, levees alone cannot do the job.
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority was established by Act 8 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of 2005. CPRA’s mandate was to develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration master plan. In the Regular Session of 2009, Act 523 (HB833) created the Office of Hurricane Protection and Coastal Restoration in the Office of the Governor. It consolidates functions relative to hurricane Flood protection and coastal restoration under the authority of that new office. Dr. Steve Mathies, a Covington native, was named executive director on August 21, 2009. This new entity will integrate activities between the Governor’s office, CPRA and other commissions. President Obama is now creating a panel to oversee restoration efforts, taking the leadership role out of the Corps of Engineers hands. This move has been welcomed by state government officials. CPRA is forming citizen advisory groups to help determine priorities and future plans.
Development in St. Tammany has severely impacted wetlands that formerly existed on Lake Pontchartrain. Our citizens are currently living in subdivisions built on former wetlands that would have served to lessen the impact of a storm surge. The U.S. Corps of Engineers and our parish government gave their approval to these water based developments. These areas cannot now be restored. It will be many years before any large scale project such as a flood gate or weir will be built... if they are even feasible. We can, however, stop making such mistakes along the rest of St. Tammany’s coast and restore or protect what we have left.
On September 28, 2009, the League of Women Voters of St. Tammany will host a very important presentation about our Coast, its protection and restoration. We have invited two extraordinary people to share their expertise with us at a public meeting.
Garret Graves, a Baton Rouge native, chairs the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA). Prior to his appointment to CPRA by Gov. Bobby Jindal, Mr. Graves served in various Congressional staff positions since 1995. Until 2004 he was Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Billy Tauzin. In 2005 he served as senior advisor to Sens. Ted Stevens and David Vitter on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and as staff director for the Climate Change and Impacts Subcommittee.
Dr. Denise J. Reed is a Professor and Interim Director of the Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of New Orleans. She has worked closely with the development of restoration plans for coastal Louisiana for the past five years. Recently she has collaborated on a study, the Value of North Shore Marshes in Improving Lake Water Quality: Assessment of Sustainability under increased Nutrient Loading and Rising Sea Levels.
Please join the League from 5:00 – 7:00 P.M. on September 28 in the St. Tammany Parish Council Chambers on Koop Drive for Mr. Graves’ and Dr. Reed’s presentations and one hour of Q & A.
1 http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/pontchartrain The Environmental Atlas of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin USGS Open File Report 02-206