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How Declaring A State of Emergency Could Speed Up Restoration Projects

mississippiriverdelta.org
Locations of proposed river diversions along the Mississippi River. Declaring a State of Emergency for the coast could help speed up their construction.

Governor John Bel Edwards recently declared coastal land loss a "State of Emergency." Officials hope this will speed up federal approval of big coastal restoration projects -- like planned river diversions south of New Orleans.

 

Though good for the coast, big land-building projects can have unintended consequences -- like changing where certain species live. So if the feds agree, instead of a lengthy environmental review process the state could get leeway and start building earlier.

 

WWNO’s Travis Lux spoke with Tulane Law Professor Mark Davis about what that would mean.

 

Support for the Coastal Desk comes from the Walton Family Foundation, the Coypu Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and local listeners.

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