The WaterMarks Interview
Timothy MatteMayor of Morgan City
Mayor Matte was elected to the city council of Morgan City in 1987. He served five and a half years as mayor pro tem and took office as mayor in January of 1993.
The Breaux Act, federal legislation funding the planning of coastal wetland restoration and preservation, has been in place for a decade. Reflecting on that 10-year period, Mayor Matte discusses the need for consensus within the state, a recognition that the problem of coastal wetlands loss goes beyond Louisiana and the necessity for increased federal funding.
Q. What lessons have been learned in the 10 years since the passage of the Breaux Act?
A. I think we have always had a pretty good understanding that the problems of southern Louisiana were related. It took us a little longer to realize that the solutions had to be equally interconnected. We’ve now learned that for a solution to be a good one, it has to be good for everyone.
Q. How about an example.
A. Back in the ‘80s Morgan City supported a plan called the Avoca Island Levee Extension. It was clear to us that the plan addressed our flood control problem by pushing water from the Atchafalaya farther out into the Gulf. What we didn’t adequately consider is that Terrebonne Parish believed our solution would cut them off from water they desperately needed to rebuild their coastal marshes. Because we didn’t fully recognize that our solution had to consider everyone, we found ourselves in a standoff. We were visiting Senator Breaux’s office in the morning to urge his support of the project, and officials from Terrebonne parish were there in the afternoon opposing it.
Q. And have things changed since then?
A. Absolutely. Morgan City won’t support projects that hurt our neighboring parishes, even if they happen to work for us. We’ve come to see that our destinies are linked. So we aggressively support projects in Terrebonne Parish that restore their coastal wetlands even though we don’t have wetland loss within our parish. Why? Because we depend on those wetlands to protect us from hurricanes coming out of the southeast.
The river has always tied us together, but now we’re coming up with solutions with that idea firmly in mind. The Lower Atchafalaya Re-evaluation Study marks a real step forward in this effort. The study will draw up plans that meet the needs of parishes, port commissions, commercial and recreational fisherman, as well as the expectations of groups like the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Sierra Club. I’m convinced this is an approach that can work as long as everyone understands the crisis we face, the consequences of doing nothing and the necessity of compromise.
Q. So how far up the river do you take this idea of being connected?
A. All the way up. Unless we can convince the people of Minnesota that they have a self-interest in controlling flooding and restoring coastal wetlands in Louisiana, we’ll never accomplish much. We have to make the case that this is a national issue. As of yet, we haven’t succeeded.
Q. Practically speaking, what does that mean?
A. It means that other states will have to understand that it’s in their best interest to spend a lot more federal dollars in Louisiana. It means that they’ll have to be convinced that it’s worth the cost to take dramatic initiates like diverting the course of the Mississippi or reconstructing barrier islands. Right now Congress is considering a bill titled the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, or CARA. This bill would re-direct the tax revenues that come from oil and gas taken from the outer continental shelf. States like Louisiana that provide all the public services for the oil and gas industry will receive a significant share of those taxes. It will take the kind of dollars included in this bill to do what needs to be done.
Q. And what’s the justification for that kind of national commitment?
A. States like Louisiana have had to bear a huge cost for providing the country with a plentiful supply of oil and gas. As you fly over our coast, you can see the oil and gas canals that have been cut across our marshes letting in salt water and killing the vegetation. What’s less obvious, and often forgotten, is that the levels of our public services are much higher than they would be without the demands of the oil and gas industry. For example, in Morgan City we have a jail with a 140-bed capacity when a jail in a typical city of our size would have a capacity of 30 beds or less. The same disproportionate demand applies to our hospitals, roads, water and sewer systems.
Q. In spite of the difficulties, you seem to be optimistic about Louisiana solving its problem of coastal wet land loss.
A. I am optimistic as long as we can convince the nation that this is more than just Louisiana’s problem. If we can do that, then I believe we have the capability to make a difference. We’ve come to understand that we can’t change nature, we have to work with it. We’ve come to under-stand that the solutions, just like the problems, are interconnected. And most importantly, we’ve come to see that consensus is something we’re able to achieve in Louisiana.