Posted on October 16, 2024
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana voters will have to decide how the state allocates money for coastal restoration on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The amendment, called the Louisiana Outer Continental Shelf Revenues for Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund Amendment, would require federal funding the state receives from offshore energy production to go toward the Coastal Restoration Fund.
The Coastal Restoration Fund already receives money from the state’s oil and gas industry as well as other federal sources.
This amendment proposes additional money Louisiana receives from offshore wind and solar renewable energy sources generated off the state’s coast in federal Gulf waters be allocated to the fund.
About the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund:
According to the Louisiana Public Affairs Research Council, also known as PAR, Louisiana created the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund in 1989 to provide a dedicated source of money to coastal restoration.
Voters in 2006 agreed to change the fund’s name to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund and make it the primary source of financing for state efforts to respond to coastal land loss and pay for hurricane protection needs, according to PAR.
PAR says the fund pays for barrier island restoration, diversion projects, flood risk reduction efforts (levees, floodgates and pump stations), marsh creation and other work aimed at safeguarding Louisiana’s residents and businesses along the coast.
The fund’s largest source of revenue comes from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act.
GOMESA provides Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas with a portion of the revenue generated off the state’s coasts in federal waters.
According to PAR, the federal Gulf waters begin 3 nautical miles offshore from Louisiana and continue to 200 nautical miles offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf.
PAR said a bill signed by Gov. Jeff Landry earlier this year dedicated in law the money Louisiana receives from alternative or renewable energy sources generated on state lands and water bottoms in the coastal area to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund.
PAR breaks down what the amendment aims to change, as well as what a Yes and No vote means.
Proposed change:
The amendment would expand the dedication to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund to add federal money Louisiana receives from offshore wind, solar and other alternative or renewable energy sources generated in federal Gulf waters off the state’s coast. Such money could come from federal lease sales, operating fees and other agreements.
A YES Vote:
Dedicate federal money Louisiana receives from alternative energy production offshore to the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund, where it can only be used on projects aimed at safeguarding the coastal area.
A NO Vote:
Allow federal money Louisiana receives from alternative energy production offshore to flow into the state general fund, where it can be spent on any legislative priority.
PAR’s argument for the amendment:
Louisiana doesn’t have enough money to pay for its coastal restoration and protection master plan.
Most of the settlement and recovery dollars from the oil spill will be spent by the end of 2031.
The state needs to identify other dollars to help cover its planned projects, and available state general fund dollars will be limited.
Using dollars from energy production off the coast is appropriate because Louisiana’s coastal communities support and service the offshore industries that contribute to the nation’s energy production.
PAR’s argument against the amendment:
Locking up dollars from offshore energy production to the coastal fund will give lawmakers less flexibility to make their own budget decisions and set their own financial priorities for the state.
Already, lawmakers have control over only a small portion of the dollars in the state budget; this amendment will worsen that. The dollars Louisiana receives from alternative energy production should be shared across the whole state because north and central Louisiana have just as many needs as the coastal region.
For more information on the amendment, click here.
