ABK attended CPRA's public solicitation process and it is outrageous!
In the past, the Atchafalaya Basin Program, now under CPRA, has completely ignored the public opposition to projects to fill wetlands in the Basin and/or to benefit special interest groups to the detriment of our Basin. CPRA has gone a step further by making sure the majority of the public and Basin fishermen cannot participate.
The webinars are done in a way that requires both a computer and a smart phone to give input and is not accessible to people who have limited technology. The great majority of the fishermen are not computer literate and do not have a computer.
The only option to submit projects is through their website, a very complicated and slow process that requires a high level of computer skills.
ABK was again excluded, this time from all committees (Steering Committee, Working Group, Collaborative Engagement Group) despite the fact that we are the most important group protecting the Basin and, with well over 2,000 members, the main voice for the many communities that depend on the Basin for sustenance and flood protection.
CPRA took out flood protection as a goal to be included in the Master Plan.
The window for public project proposals closes at the end of January, without opportunity to submit projects throughout the 4 year process. The brief time frame, over the holiday season, makes it extremely difficult, nearly impossible, for groups like ours, just finding out about this process, to propose a plan that is supported by local communities and governments.
CPRA’s response
The entire ABK staff attended the Morgan City public meeting. The response to our complaints was that the fishermen will have to adapt to the new world if they want to participate and that ABK was not invited into any committee because they can’t invite everyone.
Their reason for not considering flood protection is because that is the Corps’ job.
Public solicitation meetings
CPRA is hosting this series of public solicitation meetings in regard to developing their Master Plan for the Atchafalaya Basin. No new projects will be accepted after the end of January.
Here are some suggested questions for those who wish to participate to consider:
Why was Atchafalaya Basinkeeper not invited to any of the committees?
By doing that, you are silencing the voices of fishermen, communities and others that depend on ABK to be heard.
Why can’t projects be submitted in a word document or on paper?
The way you are doing it does not allow members of the local communities to participate.
Why are you doing webinars that prevent the majority of the public from fully engaging?
Why don’t you include flood protection and maintaining flood capacity as a must for any project that is submitted?
As the Atchafalaya Basin is critical for flood protection of South Central Louisiana, we must protect the Basin's flood water holding capacity at all costs, as the Morganza Spillway is becoming obsolete, with devastating consequences to all of us.
Projects that divert river water into the swamps have proven to destroy wetlands, lakes and bayous by filling them with sand and silt. The destruction happens very fast and is permanent. Past projects disguised as "water quality" projects have instead filled up swamps, lakes and bayous. Examples of such projects are Bayou Eugene, Buffalo Cove and Beau Bayou. The destruction is permanent, and the loss of flood capacity can never be restored. Protecting the deep-water habitat, like lakes and bayous, is critical, as fish need water during low water times. We caution that river diversions are destructive and should not be supported. Water quality should be restored by removing the levee-like spoils (spoil banks) created by the reckless dumping of dredged material by oil companies.
While the dredging to restore lakes and bayous is important, we want to caution against dumping the dredged material in long levee-like "spoil banks" along waterways, that destroy critical water flow, doing more harm than good to wetlands. When voicing support for dredging--for example Big Bayou Pigeon--please be sure to insist that dredged material is deposited in a hill, or removed from the Basin entirely, and NOT left to canalize the bayou with long, uninterrupted stretches of spoil banks, as was the case with the “restoration” work done of Bayou Postillion. It does more harm than good if the dredged material is placed carelessly.
If you value the Atchafalaya Basin for fishing, crawfishing, cypress/tupelo forests, flood protection and our culture, we hope you stand with us in telling CPRA that we want ABK to be included in any or all of the committees, to ensure the Basin is not filled in and projects should be done responsibly and not to benefit corporations that push for systematic destruction for their own selfish interests!
Public Solicitation Meetings:
November 4, 5:30 pm
Port of Morgan City Administrative Office
7327 LA-182
Morgan City, LA 70380
November 6, 5:30 pm
Point Coupee Library, New Roads Branch
201 Claiborne Street
New Roads, LA 70760
November 7, 5:30 pm
Cecilia Civic Center
2464 Cecilia Sr H South Hwy
Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
November 13, 5:30 pm
Iberville Parish Courthouse, Plaquemine (2nd Flood Council Chambers)
58050 Meriam Street
Plaquemine, LA 70764
November 14, 2:00 pm
Virtual Atchafalaya Master Plan Public Solicitation Meeting
