Posted on September 30, 2024
BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana’s coastal restoration programs are reaching a fiscal cliff in the next decade. If legislators don’t find a way to continue to fund Louisiana’s shoreline, the economic impact of land loss over the next 50 years could expand far beyond residents on the gulf.
The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR) said disruptions from the fishing industry to oil and gas would have economic ripple effects up and down the coast.
PAR president, Steven Procopio said restoration efforts would cost the state $50 billion by the year 2050.
“So, you’re getting a lot of impacts that would overall reduce the state’s economy and as the state’s economy goes down that means we have fewer jobs and fewer tax dollars coming into the state coffers for using across the state,” Procopio said.
Right now, states on the gulf coast receive federal funds from offshore oil and gas revenue. In Louisiana, that federal money goes toward coastal restoration.
This November, voters will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment that would say revenue from renewable energy, such as wind farms, would also be earmarked for restoring the coast.
District 54 representative, Joseph Orgeron, who sponsored the bill said this amendment would not take away from the oil and gas industry.
“This would basically complement that in the future with any money from offshore wind, offshore solar, offshore tidal or whatever current power that could be produced,” Orgeron said.
Development of wind farms along the gulf coast is set to begin no earlier than 2031. Voters will have to decide if future revenue road from these types of projects would be best spent building up the coastline.
“Not only my hometown, my state and the nation have energy security thorough this corridor, which includes my hometown, we need the coastal restoration program to be funded and stay active,” Orgeron said.
