Nungesser - who wants to be next LA governor - is not a fan of diversions

LINK

quote:

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For months, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser has argued to just about anyone who will listen that the signature project in Louisiana’s ambitious plan to restore its coast -- a massive, novel sediment diversion aimed at rebuilding wetlands -- is a “fraud.”

In recent weeks, his dislike for the project has taken on the feel of a crusade, one that has rankled powerful fellow Republicans and involved accusations of strong-arm tactics.

Nungesser, a Republican widely expected to run for governor in 2023, is perhaps the leading detractor of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, a $2 billion-plus project that would essentially punch a hole in the Mississippi River levee along the west bank of Plaquemines Parish to divert some of its sediment-rich water to the Barataria basin. The basin has withered away over the years as a result of levees, oil and gas development and sea-level rise, among other things.

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Article goes on to say that people are saying Billy is making a bunch of threats, meanwhile, Billy is saying that others are making a bunch of threats.

Pretty much all of the politicians in Plaquemines and St. Bernard oppose the diversions. It won't "destroy" the seafood industry but it will absolutely make it more difficult - the CPRA people admit that. It will return fisheries to where there were decades ago - meaning the fisheries will be pushed further out. There's a cost to that.

The people of St. Bernard and Plaquemines are basically being asked to sacrifice in order to save the rest of the state. Deep down... I think the people of both parishes know that doing nothing will eventually destroy both parishes - along with other areas. But doing diversions saves other places and doesn't really help those two parishes. So... there is really no reason for them to support this.

And unfortunately, rather than bring reasoned, intelligent discussion to this issue, Billy and the rest of the politicians down here just scream and yell and push rumors.

It's like the container port project in St. Bernard. The locals don't see what is positive specifically to them... and people are pushing the negative aspects of it on a constant drumbeat.