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By many measures, the 2005 hurricane season was the worst in the nation's history. The hurricanes took over 1,800 lives, destroyed billions of dollars of residential, commercial, and public property, and changed the landscape of the coast. In response, the U.S. Congress directed the Secretary of the Army to:
- Conduct a comprehensive hurricane risk reduction design and analysis in close coordination with the State of Louisiana;
- Develop a full range of hurricane risk reduction measures for South Louisiana, including coastal restoration;
- Consider risk reduction for surges equivalent to Category 5 hurricanes.
As the nation's water resource planning and development experts, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) led the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) planning and technical effort. The LACPR effort is the result of collaboration by more than 60 organizations including the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, other State and Federal agencies, non-Corps scientists and academics, NGOs, the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat, Dutch Water Partnership, private engineering firms (U.S. and Netherlands), and stakeholders.
In May 2007, the State of Louisiana officially adopted the State Master Plan which provides the State's conceptual framework of a sustainable coast and is the overarching vision for LACPR. The LACPR Final Technical Report complements the State Master Plan by presenting detailed technical evaluation of those components within the Corps' mission.
Both the LACPR report and the State Master Plan recommend a multiple lines of defense strategy. The public has sent a clear message that a levees alone approach is not enough. No single measure or approach for achieving risk reduction will meet the needs of coastal Louisiana. A multiple lines of defense strategy requires a combination of coastal restoration features, nonstructural measures, and structural components, that include Mississippi River diversions, marsh creation, evacuation, elevating structures, building levees and floodgates.
Even if consensus has been reached on a multiple lines of defense strategy, not everyone agrees on the specific components of the plan or the highest priority projects. The LACPR report provides a means of engaging leaders and stakeholders in a process of risk-informed decision making. The State and Federal government must now balance the need for urgent action with a full understanding of the tradeoffs and impacts of plans that will reshape South Louisiana.
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