Latest news with #CoastalMasterPlan
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landry administration shuffles leadership at DOTD, coastal authority
One of the new flyover ramps, pictured prior to opening, that connects I-10 to New Orleans' Armstrong International Airport officially opened on Sept. 29, 2023. (Photo credit: Daniel Gitlin/DOTD) Gov. Jeff Landry is making leadership changes at the state highway department that will go into effect Monday. In a statement issued Thursday, the governor's office said Department of Transportation a Development Secretary Joe Donahue will move from that post to become the agency's executive counsel. Glenn Ledet Jr. will leave as executive director of the Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority to become DOTD's new secretary. Also, Eric Dauphine, DOTD's current Lafayette region administrator, will become a deputy secretary for the department. 'Joe has done an outstanding job in one of the most thankless roles in state government. Louisiana's roads and infrastructure are in dire need of reform, and Joe worked every day to move DOTD forward despite the challenges,' Landry said in the statement. Ledet departs the CPRA after a year and a half as its leader and previously working as administrator of its operations division. The authority has state-level oversight of major coastal infrastructure projects in Louisiana. The governor credited Ledet with CPRA's implementation of the state's $50 billion Coastal Master Plan. The governor's office shared no information on plans for Ledet's replacement at CPRA. The incoming DOTD secretary's background includes 13 years in civil and environmental engineering, including management positions with private companies that have worked as contractors for the state transportation department. Ledet holds an environmental engineering degree from LSU and is licensed as a civil engineer in multiple Gulf Coast states. 'I am honored and grateful to Governor Jeff Landry for the trust he has placed in me to lead DOTD,' Ledet said in a statement. 'I look forward to working alongside the agency's dedicated team and partners throughout the state to strengthen Louisiana's transportation network. Together, we will focus on delivering efficient and safe infrastructure that meets the needs of Louisiana's residents, communities, and businesses both now and in the future.' Donahue has worked with Landry since the governor held the attorney general's post. In addition to his time at DOTD, Donahue has also been a staff lawyer with the state Department of Environmental Quality. His exit comes as state lawmakers have approved a package of Landry-backed bills that call for greater efficiency and accountability at DOTD, while also giving the governor more say-so on state highway spending. The changes will include a new deputy secretary of transformation. Landry's office has not clarified whether Dauphine is filling this position or an existing deputy secretary's position. Donahue is the third member of Landry's cabinet to move out of their role since the governor took office in January 2024, and the first to stay within state government. Madison Sheahan left her job as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in March to become deputy director for U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The move reunited her with Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem, for whom Sheahan worked when Noem was governor of South Dakota. Last month, Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto resigned as DEQ secretary to take a job with a Washington, D.C. law firm. Though Landry remained consistent in his support for her, Giacometto's tenure was marked with strife within the department and several departures from high-ranking employees. A workplace survey from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor revealed pervasive low morale during her time in charge. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landry names new head of Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Gov. Jeff Landry announced leadership changes at the state Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Thursday morning. Major changes include Secretary Joe Donahue moving into a new role within the agency as executive counsel and announcing Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Executive Director Glenn Ledet as the new secretary. 'Joe has done an outstanding job in one of the most thankless roles in state government. Louisiana's roads and infrastructure are in dire need of reform, and Joe worked every day to move DOTD forward despite the challenges,' said Landry. 'Now, he's returning to his passion—practicing law—and I know he'll bring the same dedication and integrity to his new role as DOTD Executive Counsel. I'm excited about the new era of leadership Glenn and Eric will bring to the department.' Ledet said he looks forward to working with the DOTD team and its partners to make the state's transportation network stronger. As the head of CPRA, he led the agency's implementation of the $50 billion Coastal Master Plan. He also has over a decade of experience in the engineering industry. 'Together, we will focus on delivering efficient and safe infrastructure that meets the needs of Louisiana's residents, communities, and businesses both now and in the future,' said Ledet. Landry also announced that Eric Dauphine, currently the district administrator of Lafayette-District 03 serving eight parishes, will be deputy secretary. 'I appreciate the opportunity to help lead DOTD during this time of transition, focusing on strategic improvements and comprehensive change needed to enhance Departmental operations,' said Dauphine. Leadership changes were announced after lawmakers passed a bill that would restructure DOTD. According to House Bill 528, the secretary would have the power to eliminate positions determined to be unnecessary following civil service rules. The agency's head would also be allowed to enter into agreements with other state agencies to develop programs and monitor, enforce and collect penalties for state construction zone violations. The bill changed who appoints the role of deputy secretary, shifting it from being a secretary appointment to a governor-appointed position. Tasks for the deputy secretary include overseeing the office of transformation to 'optimize' the agency and submitting an annual report to the legislature. Meet Courtney Burdette, new head of Louisiana Department Environmental Quality Pointe Coupee Parish man sentenced to 230 years for drug trafficking WATCH: Black bear follows elderly woman through her neighborhood 'Honestly, it was shocking': Video shows tourist approaching bison with toddler Trump launches web site for 'gold card' Landry names new head of Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legal battle between oil companies and Louisiana parishes far from over
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The big win in court for Plaquemines Parish against Chevron may not be a win for the coast for a while. The jury found Chevron liable for causing coastal damage. The oil giant now must dole out $745 million. WGNO legal analyst Cliff Cardone says the verdict does not come as a surprise. 'This is a home-cooked jury, so you'd have to think that the verdict was going to be in favor of the plaintiff because it was all local people on that jury,' said Cardone. 'Whether they fairly interpreted the evidence or not is going to be, I guess, answered in a court of appeal.' Cardone explains because Chevron has options to delay the execution of the judgment or correct it, it could take years before Plaquemines Parish is paid. Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival returns for 21st year Mike Moncla, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, says the verdict was expected but worries about its implications on the industry. 'It just throws something out there against the industry that, you know, we're trying to make Louisiana a place that people want to come back and do business in,' said Moncla. 'Lawsuits like this against industry is just not a good message to send out.' The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is also weighing in. In a statement, they wrote: 'While we cannot comment on the merits of the case or the prospects of an appeal, this verdict could be extremely important to the future of south Louisiana. It could help our state implement more of the large-scale restoration projects in our Coastal Master Plan, saving more land and benefiting not just wildlife and individuals but also industry.' This lawsuit is one of dozens of other similar lawsuits that are still pending. 'So, it's time to negotiate now, or circle the wagons and fight all the way through the courts,' said Cardone. If the case is settled once and for all, state law requires that all proceeds go toward restoring the coast once the attorney fees are battle between oil companies and Louisiana parishes far from over St. Tammany Parish leaders break ground on Mandeville bypass road project Growing opposition from House conservatives threatens to derail Trump's agenda Tariffs hurting investment, income, salaries in Baja, customs broker says US withholding water from Mexico to address debt, official says Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Louisiana's wetlands store massive amounts of carbon. They also contribute to emissions when lost.
Wetlands like Wax Lake Delta along Louisiana's coast store massive amounts of carbon, which can contribute to CO2 emissions when lost. (Photo by Elise Plunk/Louisiana Illuminator) ST. MARY PARISH – Louisiana's wetlands are one of the planet's most vital carbon storage centers, but destroying these reservoirs can accelerate harmful emissions that intensify global warming, according to experts. The Trump administration is fast-tracking energy projects, such as the Blue Marlin Offshore Port crude oil pipeline near Lake Charles that could destroy about 234 acres of wetlands, according to the Environmental Integrity Project. New research finds the stakes for Louisiana's coast are even higher than previously thought. On a sunny afternoon in early February, rainbows of microorganisms swirled in the muck of the Wax Lake delta, covering the mud like kaleidoscopic patches of plastic wrap. Microbes like these work in tandem with marsh plants to draw carbon dioxide from the air and break it down, storing the carbon in the soil. 'People didn't think about [wetlands] in the way we think today, as a carbon sequestration hot spot,' said Kanchan Maiti, an LSU professor of oceanography and wetland studies. 'If we keep losing wetlands, we're going to be losing that carbon sink,' said Matt Rota, senior policy director from the nonprofit advocacy group Healthy Gulf. But Louisiana is losing its wetlands, an average of a football field of land lost every 100 minutes, due to subsidence, storm erosion, fossil fuel development and sea level rise. The state is home to 40% of all U.S. wetlands. Louisiana's land loss crisis has been widely reported. The state has a multi-billion dollar Coastal Master Plan devoted to addressing the crisis. Now, new research highlighting Louisiana's wetlands' role in the carbon cycle argues for more focus on their heightened global value. When wetlands are destroyed, the carbon they store is released — some ends up in the Gulf, and some is consumed by microbes and gets released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. These microbes also naturally emit methane and nitrous oxide, also greenhouse gases with an even more powerful warming potential than CO2. With the global carbon cycle thrown out of balance by the burning of fossil fuels, understanding where emissions come from and how carbon is stored is beginning to take center stage. 'This isn't just our problem … it is also something that I think is pretty easily connected to national and international issues,' said Beaux Jones, CEO of nonprofit research and coastal policy group The Water Institute. Louisiana's wetlands are stellar carbon storage sites as well as some of the world's most vulnerable to loss. 'It's unique, and it's a natural service for us,' University of Florida geosciences professor Thomas Bianchi said. He has researched carbon sequestration and transport for decades. Maiti said researchers knew Louisiana's wetlands were 'rich in carbon,' but their importance in the carbon cycle has become more critical as the state grapples with global warming and land loss. 'Our relative sea level is the highest [and] because the wetland is subsiding,' Maiti said, 'we're not getting enough supply of sediment for it to keep up with the sea level rise,' he added. The state's relative sea level rise, which takes into account natural subsidence with increased sea levels, is nearly four times the global rate and one of the fastest in the world. Just how much carbon gets released as CO2 when development and land loss disturb Louisiana's wetlands is still unclear, Maiti said. But the destruction of the state's wetlands for oil and gas activity, like the pipeline project near Lake Charles, concerns scientists. 'The moment we start losing this land, we're going to release that carbon,' Maiti said. Tracking where carbon comes into a system, where it goes out and the speed at which it cycles is important in globally managing how things like excessive CO2 affect the planet, Bianchi said. He and other experts call it a carbon budget, comparing it to the business cycle, where places like marshes act like 'banks' for carbon. Fossil fuels are created from carbon, layered deeper and deeper in the earth over eons. Producing oil, gas and coal takes carbon from underground, burns it and releases it into the air faster than it would have naturally if left underground. 'Now we're in a situation where, instead of wetlands buying us 1,000 years before this organic carbon goes [and] makes it to the atmosphere, we're circulating that system, and the carbon is going out the next year,' Maiti said. Industry interest in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology has grown over the past few years as scientists, industry and lawmakers look for solutions to containing greenhouse gases and balancing the carbon budget. Some see the technology as a vital component in decarbonization as well as a way to garner money and industry jobs, while others see it as a red herring for the climate crisis. There are 30 CCS projects planned or proposed in Louisiana, and while oil companies and many politicians have embraced them, they have faced pushback from environmental advocates and community members. 'We're trying to find ways to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere through engineering, but one of the things that is really important is to not lose the systems that are already doing that for us,' Bianchi said. Scientists and advocates alike are calling for increased protection of wetlands because of their natural carbon storage capacity. Constructed or restored wetlands are other avenues being explored as both ways to increase storm resilience, prevent erosion and store carbon in Louisiana. Research shows new wetlands are extremely efficient at pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and level out to similar levels of carbon storage that naturally formed wetlands do after about 15 years. Maiti emphasised that while 'a constructed wetland, if done properly, and if it is given the time' should work like any natural wetland. 'The beauty of wetlands is they can sequester this carbon for thousands of years,' Maiti said. 'I think the key here is the time … anything we are starting from scratch, that will be behind by decades, before it actually reaches the [storage] potential of wetlands we have today.' Delaney Dryfoos from The Lens contributed to reporting from New Orleans. This story is a product of theMississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@
