ENROLLED
Page 1 of 2
Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 49
BY REPRESENTATIVE CHAMPAGNE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to create a body
composed of officials from coastal parishes, employees or board members of the
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and other members that may be
necessary for the purpose of facilitating the development of the coastal parishes' land
use plans.
WHEREAS, Louisiana's coastline is comprised of 3.5 million acres of coastal wetlands
that represents approximately forty percent of all the coastal wetlands in the continental United
States; and
WHEREAS, on April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the mobile offshore drilling
unit Deepwater Horizon which resulted in the fire that eventually sank the rig, killing eleven
crewmen, and destroying Louisiana's delicate coast and industries that rely on the coast with
an estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil released over an eighty-seven day period from the
Macondo well five thousand feet below on the ocean bottom; and
WHEREAS, this incident has had a long-lasting impact on the state's natural resources,
including land, water, fish, wildlife, fowl, and other biota, and likewise on the livelihoods of
Louisiana's citizens living along the coast; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act also known as the Clean Water
Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, provides for administrative and civil penalties for parties responsible for
unauthorized discharge of pollutants into United States waters as occurred during the
Deepwater Horizon disaster; and
WHEREAS, these fines estimated between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion would
ordinarily be deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund pursuant to the Clean Water Act;
however, congress passed the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities,
and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE) that requires eighty
percent of the fines to be deposited into the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund (Trust Fund) ENROLLEDHCR NO. 49
Page 2 of 2
for restoration efforts in the five coastal states damaged by the spill: Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas; and
WHEREAS, the monies from the Trust Fund will be principally divided into three
funding mechanisms, the Direct Component that evenly distributes thirty-five percent to the
five affected states; the Comprehensive Plan Component that directs thirty percent to the Gulf
Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to implement a comprehensive Gulf Coast wide recovery
plan; and the Spill Impact Component that distributes thirty percent to the affected states based
upon a formula calculated on the miles of coastline affected by the oil spill, distance from
Deepwater Horizon, and the average 2010 population; and
WHEREAS, thirty percent of Louisiana's Direct Component share will be allocated
directly to coastal parishes; and
WHEREAS, the rules proposed by the United States Department of Treasury, which
administers the Trust Fund, requires a parish, prior to receiving any funds, to submit a land use
plan to the governor that is consistent with, or complementary to, the most recent version of
the state's Coastal Master Plan approved by the legislature; and
WHEREAS, the coastal parishes, the state, and our coastal ecosystem as a whole would
benefit from developing the coastal parishes' land use plan based on discussions and
participation in a forum of coastal parish officials, employees and board members of the
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge
and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to create a body composed of
officials from coastal parishes, employee s or board members of the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority, and other members that may be necessary for the purpose of facilitating
the development of the coastal parishes' land use plan.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE