Posted on February 20, 2025
A group of Plaquemines Parish business and property owners are asking a state court to take action on the stalled $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project, arguing failing to move forward on the controversial coastal restoration plan threatens their economic interests and livelihoods.
The group of eight filed a request to intervene on Monday in an existing lawsuit between Plaquemines Parish and the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. That lawsuit is currently paused at the request of the two sides as they negotiate a way forward for the unprecedented project, which the parish opposes largely due to the damage it would cause to commercial oystering and shrimping in the area.
The group also separately filed a motion on Tuesday asking the same court, the 25th Judicial District Court in Plaquemines, to lift the stay that has paused the lawsuit. They argue in part in the request to intervene that the state’s power to address coastal land loss for all of Louisiana overrides the parish’s stop work order and Plaquemines’ claim that a local construction permit is needed.
The filings are the latest chapter in the saga playing out over the diversion project, which was long seen as a linchpin of the state’s coastal master plan. Though it broke ground in 2023, the project was thrown into doubt by Gov. Jeff Landry after he took office last year, saying he opposed it in its current form because of its effects on commercial fishing and communities in Plaquemines as well as its escalating costs.
Plaquemines has sued to stop the project, arguing the state did not obtain local building permits for it. The state had previously argued it was exempt from such permits under Louisiana law, but has since changed course under Landry. The Army Corps of Engineers has granted a permit for the work after a lengthy environmental review.
“We’re intervening to get the project back on and moving because we believe it will benefit everybody in Plaquemines Parish and the state,” said Maura Pelleteri of the Pugh Accardo law firm, representing the group seeking to intervene.
The interveners are: Richard Blink, Foster Creppel, Kevin Crossen, Alicia Dardar, Timothy Dardar, Ryan Lambert, Michael Mariana and Harold Hunter “Terry” White III. Plaquemines Parish officials, their lawyer and the CPRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The project is being paid for with fines and settlement dollars linked to the 2010 BP oil spill, though cost overruns due to delays caused by the state could fall on Louisiana. Nearly $380 million has been set aside to help those negatively affected, including commercial fishers.
Long sought by coastal advocates and a range of scientists, the project aims to mimic the processes that built south Louisiana in the first place, by funneling river water and sediment into disappearing wetlands to rebuild them.
It would be built near Ironton on the west bank of Plaquemines and is projected to build 21 square miles of land over 50 years, while nourishing other marsh-building projects with sediment. The project could remain effective beyond that timeframe, officials involved in its design say.
Coastal advocacy groups have pushed for the project to move forward, saying Louisiana has little time to lose as its land loss crisis worsens. Plaquemines Parish is among the worst hit.
The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, which has worked on land loss issues for decades, said that while it is not part of the legal action, it wants to see the Mid-Barataria project proceed as planned.
“We continue to support the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion and recognize the importance of healthy wetlands to our coastal communities and industries and our state’s economy,” said the group’s communications director James Karst. “We believe in the future of south Louisiana, and we want to see this project built as permitted — as soon as possible.”
Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a coalition of local and national organizations, said “this intervention is a heartening demonstration of parish residents’ support. Without urgent action, the future of our Barataria Basin is bleak.”
“While construction on MBSD has been stalled for about a year, we have lost another 500 acres in vital coastal wetlands,” it said in a statement.
