Posted on January 20, 2025
With the passage of Act 8 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2005 (Act 8), the Louisiana legislature mandated the integration of hurricane protection activities (e.g., levee construction) and coastal restoration activities (e.g., river diversions or marsh creation). Act 8 also created the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board (CPRA Board) and tasked it with oversight of these activities. The Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (OCPR) was designated as the implementation arm of the CPRA Board. To avoid confusion, the 2012 Louisiana legislature changed the name of the state agency from OCPR to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).
The CPRA Board, with the assistance of CPRA, is required by Act 523 of the 2009 Regular Legislative Session, amended by Act 604, to produce an Annual Plan that inventories projects, presents implementation schedules for these projects, and identifies funding schedules and budgets. This Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Plan provides an update on the state’s efforts to protect and restore its coast and describes the short-term and long-term results that citizens can expect to see as the state progresses toward a sustainable coast
Act 570 of the 2018 Regular Session, enacting La. R.S. 49:214.8.1, et seq., transferred the responsibilities of the Atchafalaya Basin Research and Promotion Board and the Atchafalaya Basin Program from the Department of Natural Resources to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which will perform and exercise the powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities of the Program as provided by law. The annual basin plan is included in the Annual Plan: Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection in Coastal Louisiana produced each year by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
