ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 70
BY REPRESENTATIVE ZERINGUE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request continued support for the efforts by the state of Louisiana and others in
the Mississippi River Basin to work together toward achieving the goals of the Gulf
Hypoxia Action Plan and a reduction of the hypoxic zone off our coast.
WHEREAS, the continued formation of a large area of hypoxia, or low oxygen
levels, in Louisiana's coastal waters remains a threat to the health of our state's productive
commercial and recreational offshore fisheries and seafood industry; and
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana has been a participant in the cooperative effort
to address this problem through the federal-state Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico
Watershed Nutrient Task Force since 1997, and the Action Plan for Reducing Hypoxia in
the Northern Gulf of Mexico since 2000; and
WHEREAS, these efforts have engaged twelve states along the Mississippi and Ohio
rivers, along with federal agencies and private stakeholders, in a collaborative effort to
reduce the average size of the annual hypoxic zone through conservation, ecosystem
restoration, and nutrient management and reduction programs; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana and the task force are working with partners such as
Mississippi River Basin Land Grant Universities, including Louisiana State University and
its Agriculture Center, and programs such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative, in collaboration with the Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and Forestry's office of soil and water conservation, which has
developed projects in watersheds across Louisiana, in cooperation with farmers and
landowners; and
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WHEREAS, industries along the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor between
Baton Rouge and New Orleans are proactively and voluntarily reducing their nutrient
releases to the river and the Gulf of Mexico, as highlighted by the Louisiana Department of
Environment Quality's environmental leadership program and the updated report entitled
"Nutrient Releases to the Mississippi River in the Louisiana Industrial Corridor", completed
by the Louisiana Water Synergy Project in 2014; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana has previously expressed its support for efforts to reduce the
Gulf hypoxic zone and ensure the health of the state's offshore fisheries and waters, in
resolutions such as HCR No. 47 of the 2000 Regular Session, HCR No. 80 of the 2007
Regular Session, SCR No. 40 of the 2010 Regular Session, and SR No. 84 of the 2012
Regular Session.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Louisiana Legislature urges and requests
continued support for the efforts by our state and others in the Mississippi River Basin to
work together toward achieving the goals of the Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan and a reduction
of the hypoxic zone off our coast.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Legislature conveys this support
to Louisiana's Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Congressional delegation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to
Governor John Bel Edwards, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, and each member of the
Louisiana Congressional delegation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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