2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 17
BY SENATORS HENSGENS, CATHEY, CONNICK, CORTEZ, FESI, HARRIS,
HENRY, HEWITT, MILLIGAN, FRED MILLS, ROBERT MILLS,
PEACOCK, POPE, PRICE, REESE, SMITH, STINE AND TALBOT
AND REPRESENTATIVE ZERINGUE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To approve the comprehensive master plan for integrated coastal protection projects, as
adopted by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board.
WHEREAS, R.S. 49:214.5.1 et seq. provides for the creation, duties, and
responsibilities of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board (board); and
WHEREAS, under R.S. 49:214.5.2, the board represents the state's position in policy
relative to the protection, conservation, enhancement, and restoration of the coastal area of
the state through oversight of integrated coastal protection projects and programs; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the responsibility of the board to represent the state's
position in policy relative to integrated coastal protection, membership on the board includes
the following: the governor's executive assistant for coastal activities; the secretaries of the
Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Department
of Environmental Quality, the Department of Transportation and Development, the
Department of Economic Development, and the commissioners of the division of
administration, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Department of
Insurance; eight members who are appointed by the governor in consultation with the Police
Jury Association of Louisiana and the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana; the chair
of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration and
Conservation; the director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness; the lieutenant governor; and two ex-officio members designated by the
president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, the powers and duties of the board require working in conjunction with
state agencies, political subdivisions, including flood protection authorities, levee districts
and federal agencies, as well as representatives from the Louisiana Legislature, to develop
a state comprehensive master plan for integrated coastal protection (coastal master plan) to
address integrated coastal protection efforts from both short-term and long-range
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perspectives, and to incorporate the structural, management, and institutional components
of both efforts; and
WHEREAS, the board has engaged a state steering committee to assist with the
development of the coastal master plan as directed by Governor John Bel Edwards'
Executive Order No. JBE 2016-09, which requires all state agencies, departments, and
offices to administer their regulatory practices and programs in a manner consistent with the
coastal master plan; and
WHEREAS, in development of the coastal master plan, the board has also engaged
a diverse group of key stakeholders to serve as the coastal advisory team (CAT) which began
meeting in September of 2018, with meetings occurring every four to six months thereafter,
to establish a clear vision for the 2023 coastal master plan consisting of members from the
following groups: Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, building industry,
chemical industry, oil and gas, ports and navigation, community representative, land
conservation, recreational fishing, commercial fisheries, environmental and community
nonprofit organizations, landowner representatives, local flood control, Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources - office
of coastal management, Louisiana Department of Economic Development - small business
development, Louisiana Sea Grant, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - marine
fisheries office, Mississippi River Delta-Coalition, national advocacy group, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - national marine fisheries services, parish
representatives from the eastern, central, and western areas of coastal Louisiana, RESTORE
Council, university/academic representative, United States Army Corps of Engineers, United
States Department of Agriculture - natural resources conservation service, and the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the CAT, the board also engaged a series of advisory
groups to establish the 2023 coastal master plan, including a Predictive Modeling Technical
Advisory Committee including scientists and engineers with national or international
experience who cover a range of disciplines relevant to the 2023 coastal master plan to
provide independent technical review, five regional workgroups representing five coastal
regions to integrate local knowledge and expertise, and community engagement
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workgroups; and
WHEREAS, the coastal master plan shall include a list of projects and programs
required for the protection, conservation, enhancement, and restoration of the coastal area,
the action required of each agency to implement said project or program, and a schedule and
estimated cost for the implementation of each project or program included in the plan; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 49:214.5.3 requires that, as part of the development of the coastal
master plan, the board shall conduct not less than three public hearings in separate locations
in the western, central, and eastern areas of the coastal area for the purpose of receiving
comments and recommendations from the public and elected officials; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 49:214.5.3 also requires that at least two weeks prior to each public
hearing, the board must contact the parish governing authorities, regional flood protection
authorities, levee districts, and the state legislators of the parishes in the coastal areas for the
purpose of soliciting their comments and recommendations and notifying them of the public
hearing to be held in their area; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 49:214.5.3 requires the board to receive written comments and
recommendations until thirty days prior to the submission of the coastal master plan to the
legislative committees; and
WHEREAS, the board has gone well above and beyond the public outreach required
by law and in addition to meeting its obligations as set forth in R.S. 49:214.5.3, the board
has: (1) hosted a total of four public hearings between January and February 2023 in the
cities of Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Houma, and New Orleans, with a total of over three
hundred attendees, (2) participated in ten community conversations sponsored by a coastal
Louisiana nongovernmental organization in Belle Chasse, Violet, New Orleans, Larose,
Lacombe, Abbeville, Gonzales, Gretna, Lutcher, and Grand Lake between November 2022
and March 2023 with 500 attendees, (3) opened the plan for public comment for
seventy-nine days of public comment ending on March 25, 2023, (4) given one hundred
twenty-seven general presentation briefings, (5) conducted seventy-five meetings with
advisory groups, and (6) received over one thousand eight hundred unique views on the
master plan data viewer; and
WHEREAS, as required under the provisions of R.S. 49:214.5.3, the coastal master
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plan adopted by the board must be submitted to the House Committee on Natural Resources
and Environment and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee
on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the Senate Committee on
Transportation, Highways and Public Works; and
WHEREAS, the legislature may approve or disapprove of the coastal master plan by
resolution adopted by a majority vote of the members of each house of the legislature; and
WHEREAS, the board shall provide for implementation of the coastal master plan
if the legislature approves such plan or if the legislature fails to take action on such plan
within sixty days after the plan is submitted.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
approve the comprehensive master plan for integrated coastal protection as adopted by the
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board and the executive
director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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