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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 49
BY REPRESENTATIVE CHAMPAGNE
COASTAL RESOURCES: Urges and requests the Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority to create a body of coastal parishes to aid in compliance with the
RESTORE Act
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to create a body2
composed of officials from coastal parishes, employees or board members of the3
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and other members that may be4
necessary for the purpose of facilitating the development of the coastal parishes' land5
use plan.6
WHEREAS, Louisiana's coastline is comprised of 3.5 million acres of coastal7
wetlands that represents approximately forty percent of all the coastal wetlands in the8
continental United States; and9
WHEREAS, on April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the mobile offshore drilling10
unit Deepwater Horizon which resulted in the fire that eventually sank the rig, killing eleven11
crewmen, and destroying Louisiana's delicate coast and industries that rely on the coast with12
an estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil released over an eighty-seven day period from the13
Macondo well five thousand feet below on the ocean bottom; and14
WHEREAS, this incident has had a long-lasting impact on the state's natural15
resources, including land, water, fish, wildlife, fowl, and other biota, and likewise on the16
livelihoods of Louisiana's citizens living along the coast; and17
WHEREAS, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act also known as the Clean Water18
Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, provides for administrative and civil penalties for parties responsible19 HLS 14RS-739 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 49
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for unauthorized discharge of pollutants into United States waters as occurred during the1
Deepwater Horizon disaster; and2
WHEREAS, these fines estimated between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion would3
ordinarily be deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund pursuant to the Clean Water4
Act; however, Congress passed Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist5
Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE)6
that requires eighty percent of the fines to be deposited into the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust7
Fund (Trust Fund) for restoration efforts in the five coastal states damaged by the spill:8
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas; and9
WHEREAS, the monies from the Trust Fund will be principally divided into three10
funding mechanisms, the Direct Component that evenly distributes thirty five percent to the11
five effected states; the Comprehensive Plan Component that directs thirty percent to the12
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to implement a comprehensive gulf coast wide13
recovery plan; and the Spill Impact Component that distributes thirty percent to the effected14
states based upon a formula calculated on the miles of coastline affected by the oil spill,15
distance from Deepwater Horizon, and the average 2010 population; and16
WHEREAS, thirty percent of Louisiana's Direct Component share will be deposited17
directly to coastal parishes; and18
WHEREAS, the rules proposed by the United States Department of Treasury, which19
administers the Trust Fund, requires a parish, prior to receiving any funds, to submit a land20
use plan to the governor that is consistent with, or complementary to, the most recent version21
of the state's Coastal Master Plan approved by the legislature; and22
WHEREAS, the coastal parishes, the state, and our coastal ecosystem as a whole23
would benefit in developing the coastal parishes' land use plan based on discussions and24
participation in a forum of coastal parish officials, employees, and board members of the25
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.26
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby27
urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to create a body composed28
of officials from coastal parishes, employees, or board members of the Coastal Protection29 HLS 14RS-739 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 49
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and Restoration Authority, and other members that may be necessary for the purpose of1
facilitating the development of the coastal parishes' land use plan.2
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted3
to the executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.4
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Champagne HCR No. 49
Urges and requests the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to create a
body composed of officials from coastal parishes, employees, or board members of the
CPRA, and other members that may be necessary for the purpose of facilitating the
development of the coastal parishes' land use plan.