An Interview with CPRA Chairperson Sidney Coffee
The Authority to Shape Louisiana’s Future

In response to the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 8 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2005.

The new law has restructured the state’s Wetland Conservation and Restoration Authority to form the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). CPRA was established so that a single state entity would present and articulate a clear statement of priorities for coastal protection, including hurricane protection and coastal restoration, and ultimately would be responsible for implementing and enforcing the state’s objectives. Most significant is the call to action dictated by Act 8. Specifically, CPRA is charged with developing a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration plan for submission to the state Legislature by April 2007.

To that end, beginning in August 2006, CPRA conducted over two dozen stakeholder meetings to solicit comments from parish governing authorities, levee districts, and non-governmental groups and environmental organizations.

WaterMarks spoke with CPRA’s chairperson, Sidney Coffee, to learn about the challenges the state faces and discuss its plans for rebuilding. Ms. Coffee also serves as coastal policy advisor to the Louisiana governor and as the state representative on the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) Task Force.

WaterMarks: What practical difference does combining hurricane protection and coastal restoration make?

Coffee: Now we look at protection and restoration simultaneously. We won’t just create levee alignments with no thought to natural processes or, when it isn’t appropriate, undertake ecosystem restoration without an eye toward how it contributes to hurricane protection. We’re using each effort to complement the other.

The last thing the state wants is a “great wall of Louisiana.” We want a sustainable coast. If we just wall off the coast, we’ll lose an ecosystem that is of huge economic and environmental benefit to the entire country. It’s important not only to fisheries and wildlife, but also to the nation’s energy infrastructure and navigation routes.

WaterMarks: Even with an integrated plan, won’t you still have to make choices between protection and restoration?

Coffee: Of course. Trade-offs between protection and restoration are inevitable. In developing the master plan, science and engineering are guiding us, telling us what can be done. Then we can go to communities and say, “If we put a levee alignment here, it will degrade fisheries in your wetland.” Or we’ll say, “We can do this particular restoration effort, but it’s going to prevent building category 5 hurricane protection here.” And each community will determine what its priorities are.

WaterMarks: How are you involving communities in the decisionmaking process?

Coffee: CPRA is working hand in hand with the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA). LRA is responsible for conducting a series of workshops to get input from stakeholders, to discover what is most important to coastal residents. Every area will have different needs depending on what that area produces, what its landscape is like.

Once we understand what people want, the CPRA planning team will incorporate it into the master plan. The plan will shape redevelopment and long-term recovery in Louisiana, and it will be a plan fully vetted through the public.

WaterMarks: What do you see as the greatest challenge to implementing a comprehensive and effective coastal protection system?

Coffee: Money. I have faith that we will have a good plan. Getting that plan funded will be the continuing challenge. At this point there is not adequate funding. There’s never been adequate funding for coastal restoration or hurricane protection.

The master plan incorporates projects to be built with the help of federal funding through programs such as CWPPRA, the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). But we know that long-term funding to implement the master plan will take a steady stream of revenue that cannot be at the whim of congressional appropriations.

It’s no secret that for many decades Louisiana has fought for a fair share of Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas revenue — royalties the federal government receives from leasing agreements with companies that drill in offshore waters. Should a revenue-sharing bill be passed, Louisiana has demonstrated a constitutional commitment to dedicating this source of money to coastal restoration.

WaterMarks: What function can CWPPRA perform for the CPRA?

Coffee: CWPPRA can help by doing exactly what CWPPRA has always done: research, plan and construct coastal restoration projects. We’re not starting from scratch; we’ve learned many lessons. We’re building on everything that’s been done before. CWPPRA contributes an enormous amount of valuable experience. We sincerely hope CWPPRA will always have a major role in implementing a comprehensive approach to coastal protection.

CPRA is very much a coordination authority, making sure that all programs of state agencies and of partnerships between state and federal agencies are consistent with each other. The master plan will provide overarching guidance, and that should be good news for every existing program out there right now.

WaterMarks: Has Louisiana learned something that other states should know?

Coffee: I think the lesson Louisiana can pass on is that our environment not only produces fisheries and provides habitat for wildlife, it also plays a major role in protecting our coastal communities, our water quality, and the nation’s economic and energy security. This is a working coast; onethird of the nation’s oil and gas moves through Louisiana. Our goal is to protect this coast and to sustain the value of this very strategic part of America.