re: State pauses work on Louisiana's biggest-ever coastal project. 'You just can't afford it.'

quote:

---

Someone hasn’t been to Grand Isle.

---

Someone doesnt know how barrier island evolution and longshore transport works.



The real reason the rocks appear to work on Grand Isle is because they are slowing down the longshore drift from the west, not magically holding what is there in huge overwash storm events. Barrier shorelines appear stable only because they are in equilibrium of sand moving in and out of any given reach along the short from up-current to down-current, NOT because that sand is staying put. More sand in than out makes the beach grow. Less sand in and out makes the beach erode.



Fourchon and Elmers are eroding, providing a huge sand engine feeing and sustaining Grand Isle as shown above. Putting rocks on the east end of GI will starve the west end and put it in a sediment "shadow." Beaches on the west end will erode. The island in Terrebonne you refer to, Racoon, is the textbook case for this. It gets its sand from the east. The breakwaters helped the eastern end of the island but starved the western end to the point it disappeared.




Every other application of rocks along the deltaic plain shorelines of LA (Wine Island, Timbalier Island) have flopped miserably. Wine Island was ringed with rocks...if rocks work so well to hold sand, how did the entire island migrate out of the rocks as shown below? We would be best off using larger sand grain sizes from the Mississippi and Ship Shoal on all the barriers versus the ebb tidal delta crap they're pulling up from Caminada Pass and putting back on the beach. It will be gone soon.



I'll leave the numerous fallacies in your understanding of how diversions work to be addressed by others.

The idea that Mississippi River diversions are ineffective is at odds with new land created by two relatively recent natural diversions on the East Bank, Mardi Gras Pass and especially Neptune Pass.

What's the Difference Between Neptune Pass and Mardi Gras Pass

quote:

---

The natural river diversion at Neptune Pass is much earlier in its deltaic life cycle than Mardi Gras Pass, but it is quickly spreading sediment across Quarantine Bay and Bay Denesse, where existing terracing projects are trapping the sediment and building new land. This outfall area is quickly becoming a thriving haven for wildlife including ducks, alligators, redfish and more.

---

Neptune Pass Viewed to the East


Viewed to the West


The idea that dredging is a superior solution doesn't account for natural subsidence in Barataria Bay, bolstered by geological studies on the presence of shallow subsurface faults in the area. Dredging is a perpetual, ongoing never ending approach with legitimate questions on its long term feasibility in both cost and effectiveness.

Moreover, the common sense observation that unconsolidated sediments will not support tons of rock piles associated with dredging for decades in the future, with near certain chances for submergence below the water line, is obvious.

Ask Ryan Lambert, owner of Cajun Fishing Adventures in Buras with 40 years experience guiding there, about Neptune Pass. He is an unabashed enthusiast seeing the positive effects first hand, over a relatively short period of time.

Does any of this make a difference in the project's execution going forward?

Not one fricking bit.

Landry and Nungesser have already made the decision for you.

apparently the state will bear the brunt of costs down the line
who knows with LA politicians

quote:

---

If it’s not the state’s money then why the hell is the state paying for it or will be made to pay for it if it’s canceled?

---

I give you $100 with strings attached.

You spend $20 then tell me you atrbtbgiing to do what you agreed to do.

Yes,you owe me all $100 back

quote:

---

If it’s not the state’s money then why the hell is the state paying for it or will be made to pay for it if it’s canceled?


I give you $100 with strings attached.

You spend $20 then tell me you atrbtbgiing to do what you agreed to do.

Yes,you owe me all $100 back

---

Pretty much this - the entities that control the BP funds approved this project to be constructed in Louisiana. They originally earmarked it at about a billion and a half dollars. Once negotiations with contractors and subcontractors and material suppliers got hashed out, the new price tag came in at just under 3 billion dollars. JBE and the CPRA heads and whoever else in Louisiana then went to the entities that control the money and said - hey this is gonna cost a lot more and we don't want Louisiana taxpayers to pay for the overage, so we need to do something else. They responded that they can cover the entire cost if we commit to doing the project, which the JBE admin said ok to. Approximately 500 billion dollars was released by the controllers of the money to various contractors for sitework, mobilization, equipment, and whatever else. Those contractors were supposed to start over a year ago and they have been sitting there doing nothing. Sending invoices weekly to CPRA and losing money that they could be making on other jobs. Now the state of Louisiana will find itself in breach of contract with the controllers of the BP money for cancelling the job. And - rightfully so - they want their money back. So - who is gonna pay that?

I bet if Jeff Landrys family was doing the construction we wouldnt be looking at a pause.

quote:

---

Correct - but the state is likely now looking at multiple lawsuits in addition to the BP fund demanding their money back. Lots of contractors sitting over there for a year plus losing out on revenue from other jobs. Lots of material suppliers paying a year plus of material storage fees for nothing. And - good luck with ever getting another dime of that money on any project here in the state. There are 4 other eligible gulf coast states that the BP trust can work with and grant that money to.

---

I really dont care, the state votes in retards every chance they get and let the older families in the areas bend them over at will.

Maybe one day.

Neptune pass and Mardi Gras pass both have naturally created land mass on the east side. This west side resoration project has been studied for more than a decade and this is what the experts came up with. I realize that there are arguments on both sides and for different methods. I believe that it is quite apparant that a west side diversion will work and do what it is intended to do. I just tend to focus more on the economic impact of a 3 billion dollar construction project that Louisiana taxpayers don't have to pay for.

quote:

---

the project included almost $400 million dollars to assist the oyster and shrimp guys in the basin that would be impacted.

Yeah...they would have received generational wealth...but they said nah, who wants that.

Idiots.

---

Its this Land and lease owners... If the farmers get pay outs, they wont be paying the leases to fish. Nunguesser cough cough. ...