CWPPRA Restoration Programs
The concern of Louisiana citizens and landowners was clearly heard in 1989 (before the passage of CWPPRA) when an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution establishing a dedicated Wetlands Trust Fund for coastal wetlands restoration was overwhelmingly approved in a special voter referendum by a 3:1 margin. Through this constitutional amendment, up to $25 million per year in state oil and gas lease payments, royalties and severance tax collections were dedicated toward wetlands restoration in coastal Louisiana.
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (Public Law 101-646, Title III-CWPPRA), which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President George Bush in 1990, addressed wetlands loss nationally with a primary focus on coastal Louisiana’s serious wetland loss challenges. The Act directed that a Task Force consisting of representatives of five federal agencies and Louisiana develop a "comprehensive approach to restore and prevent the loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana." These five agencies include the Department of the Army, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture.
Through CWPPRA (which requires up to a 25% state match), an additional $35 million per year was dedicated to help restore and protect Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. Louisiana’s Wetlands Trust Fund provides the state’s matching requirement. Potential restoration project investments, therefore, can exceed $40 million per year through CWPPRA and state matching funding.
As mandated by CWPPRA, the Task Force developed a detailed Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan in 1993 that describes what restoration actions/projects should be implemented to address Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis. A Priority Project List is developed and approved by the Task Force each year, outlining which projects will receive CWPPRA funding. Throughout the CWPPRA process, the public has provided critical input into restoration goals, strategies and plan implementation.
Another key component of CWPPRA is the development by the state of a Coastal Wetland Conservation Plan that assures "no-net-loss" of coastal wetlands caused by development activities. Once a Conservation Plan is developed and approved by the secretary of the Army, administrator of EPA and the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state-required CWPPRA match will be reduced. The reduction of the state matching requirement is quite an incentive for conservation plan development and implementation.
As of January 1999, more than $280 million in federal and state funding had been authorized and approved for coastal restoration actions.