Breaux Act: Lifeline to a Drowning Coast

Shoring up the roadway with oyster shells, raising their houses on 10-foot stilts, watching streets, trees, telephone poles and cemeteries tumble into encroaching water, residents are constantly reminded that coastal Louisiana lies imperiled.

But Louisiana has not been cast off and abandoned. In 1990 the country acknowledged the national significance of this environmental crisis with the passage of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA, or the Breaux Act). With the act providing approximately $50 million a year, the CWPPRA task force has spearheaded the development of over 120 projects with the goal of restoring the coastal wetlands of Louisiana.

Partnerships Strengthen Projects

The Breaux Act involves five federal agencies and the state of Louisiana, and is managed by the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force. The agencies comprising the task force each partner with Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources on different restoration projects, combining resources for their construction, operation and maintenance. Federal monies fund 85 percent of a project’s costs, including monitoring, and state or local dollars cover 15 percent.

“CWPPRA has demonstrated that agencies working as partners produce better plans that garner wider public support than do individual agencies working independently and focusing on a single interest,” says Gregory Miller, project manager in the Coastal Restoration Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans. “CWPPRA has also involved thousands of citizens across the coast in planning for the restoration of wetlands. Collectively developing projects through local meetings and interagency reviews has resulted in improved design.”

Science-driven Achievements

Currently there are 123 active CWPPRA projects throughout coastal Louisiana. Basically, four techniques have proven effective in restoring and protecting the coast: dedicated dredging, river diversions, shoreline protection and vegetative plantings. Each technique addresses a specific type of environmental condition or erosion problem, and is selected according to an area’s water depth, wave energy and proximity to sediment-laden river flow. In light of its expanding knowledge, the task force continually revises its list of proposed projects and estimates their costs with increasing accuracy.

CWPPRA’s scientific contributions include initiating the Louisiana Coast 2050 study, which examined the condition of Louisiana’s coast and put forth a program to develop a sustainable, functional, coastwide ecosystem. CWPPRA was also a sponsor of the recent study Historical and Predicted Coastal Louisiana Land Changes: 1978 – 2050, mapping probable land loss and gain through the year 2050.

Over the course of its 20-year authorization, CWPPRA will spend an estimated $1 billion to protect and restore coastal Louisiana. But CWPPRA has offered more than just a string of restoration projects. By developing a model for federal and state agencies and local stakeholders to work together; by devising a flexible structure capable of adjusting to scientific advances; and by drawing national attention to coastal Louisiana’s plight, CWPPRA offers the region hope for success in preserving and restoring its wetlands.