Louisiana will spend billions of dollars on new levees and revive several thousand acres of marshland to protect the coast, according to an updated 50-year master plan the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority approved Wednesday.
The coastal master plan calls for spending $50 billion on 77 projects that the CPRA hopes will slow the state’s rapid rate of land loss and reduce its vulnerability to hurricanes and rising seas, which are both expected to worsen as the climate changes.
The plan has a massive price tag, but failing to carry it out will cost Louisiana more according to the CPRA.
The plan estimates that the projects will reduce annual storm surge damage by at least $11 billion per year by 2073.
The authority’s board approved the plan unanimously on Wednesday morning.
One big-ticket item in the plan is a $2.4 billion barrier protecting Lake Pontchartrain from storm surge. The project includes gates and dams across The Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass.
