Jacques:	00:01	Hello, you are listening to Delta Dispatches. We're discussing Louisiana's coast, its people, wildlife, and jobs and why restoring it matters. I'm Jacques Hebert with Environmental Defense Fund.
Simone:	00:10	I'm Simone Maloz with Restore or Retreat.
Jacques:	00:13	Well, it's our 100th episode Simone.
Simone:	00:16	Can you believe we made it?
Jacques:	00:16	I think there's no better way to mark this milestone then to have Louisiana's governor, John Bel Edwards, on Delta Dispatches. It's a huge honor, and there's so much to talk about. WE know the governor's busy, so we really appreciate your time. Welcome to Delta Dispatches Governor.
Governor:	00:35	Thank you Jacques and Simone, it's great to be with you.
Simone:	00:39	So, let's jump right in. We're right on the heels of recovering the aftermath of Barry. So, how do you think your team performed? How do you think Louisiana performed?
Governor:	00:49	Well, the team performed extremely well. By the team, I mean our federal partners, all the state agencies, our local partners. Having said that, and I'm going to get back to why I said that, we're still very thankful that Mother Nature didn't give us all the rain that had been forecasted. That would have been very problematic, and people especially in the Baton Rouge area can remember back to 2016 and how devastating those floods were. WE were talking initially about rain forecasts that would equal those from 2016. We're thankful that that didn't happen, however it was still a major storm. It made landfall as a hurricane, and I think when all is said and done, we're going to find out that the storm surge, at least in southeast Louisiana, was every bit what was advertised and perhaps a little bit more. It was probably right on track in terms of the central part of coastal Louisiana with respect to storm surge, but I think the team performed really well.
		The reason I say that is the communications were excellent and they started early between the National Weather Service, the Corps of Engineers, FEMA. We had FEMA representatives in Baton Rouge days before landfall. The actual FEMA Region Six coordinator out of Denton, Texas spent three full days on the ground here. That was very helpful in terms of getting the pre-landfall declaration, which is something you don't see terribly often. The fact that we got a pre-landfall, federal declaration is evidence of just how serious the National Weather Service thought this storm could be, to be honest with you. It was very helpful. Then the state, we positioned people and resources pretty aggressively based on the forecast, and so for example, 3000 National Guardsmen with all their equipment, including high water vehicles, were staged across south Louisiana.  WE had more than 300 buses at three vehicle staging areas, and some in New Orleans, others in Gonzales, Lafayette area. WE opened state shelters, so that if we were going to be doing the search and rescue, we would have shelters to bring people to, and we opened those early and so forth. 
		So, I think that the effort was good, and it's just July. So, even though it was a real storm, it does help us to prepare for the next one, which in all likelihood will come later this year, you know just based on the law of averages. We could see another storm this year. So, I said it at the time, I really appreciate all of the local officials, all the levee authorities, all the fire departments, sheriff's departments, police tours, parish presence. You name it, just a tremendous effort there. Then our state agencies really performed well, including CPRA that obviously has a particular interest when it comes to flooding and levees and pumps and so forth, did extremely well. In addition to the National Guard which people are accustomed to seeing, but people don't quite have the same visibility of the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority and their interaction with the various levee authorities around the state of Louisiana.  
Simone:	04:09	So, ironically you were in Terrebonne Parish for their Coastal Day, and you gave a speech to the group there. That day was about showing off protection and restoration, but that system was really put to the test.
Governor:	04:22	It was, and I will give you some information that we were given by the folks in Terrebonne Parish after the storm. That is, they believe that the storm surge from Barry equaled or exceeded what they got from Gustav and Ike. With respect to Gustav and Ike, there were more than 10,000 structures that took water. With respect to Hurricane Barry, which had at least the same storm surge and perhaps more, it was a couple hundred structures. The difference was the work that has happened in the mean time on their levee system. So, the message we delivered at Coastal Day in Terrebonne Parish was to thank them for their work, their effort over the years, and the people in Terrebonne Parish, the local elected officials, they didn't wait until the federal government showed up and said, "hey, let us build you a levee system for you." They got started, they taxed themselves, now look, they're not bashful about seeking federal and state resources, but we had been able to partner with them, but I think it is very helpful for the people in Terrebonne Parish to know and really people all over Louisiana that in the two areas where you had levee overtopping in Terrebonne Parish from Barry, both of those areas were undergoing construction. 
		So, the problem areas had already been identified, construction's ongoing, and this was down in the Dularge area and Point-aux-Chenes if memory serves me. Both areas were under construction, those levees were being increased in their height, and it made a tremendous difference for the people in Terrebonne Parish. If you look around the state of Louisiana, our levee system performed extremely well. We had a couple places in lower Plaquemines Parish, but one of those was a construction site, the other one was a back levee that overtopped but, I don't think there was a structure that took on water because of that. Highway 23 never closed. 
		The work that CPRA did allowed us to target that area in Myrtle Grove because we anticipated that the overtopping would occur, so we were able to shore it up in advance and position people and resources so that as soon as we were able, we could get in there and finish fortifying that levee and stopping that overtopping as soon as possible. So, the levees system is incredibly important, and sometimes we talk about levees, obviously they're part of protection, but you know restoration is protection too.
		Not all protection is restoration, but all restoration is protection because what you can't have is the Gulf of Mexico lapping at the base of the levees. So, every time we increase the restoration effort and build marsh, we know that dissipates the storm surge. The further out from our levees that you can make that happen, the better off you're going to be. So, that's why all the work that we do, it isn't just on the levee construction side, it's all the restoration, it's all important in terms of playing that role and keeping that storm surge as far away as the populated areas and the levees as possible. So, that's why we're promoting all of our work with CPRA, which is about 50% restoration and 50% protection, but I happen to think it's 100% protection. I believe restoration is protection.
Jacques:	07:58	We certainly agree with that Governor, and one of the other things that really stood out from Barry, it came on the heels of what's been an unprecedented year of flooding on the Mississippi River, it was the first time a hurricane made landfall while the Mississippi River was in flood stage. Of course the storm surge that was initially anticipated never materialized on the river, but how can Louisiana be better prepared to confront the situation going forward?
Governor:	08:25	Well, let me tell you that is something that is brand new, and it presents its own challenges because the Corps of Engineers controls the structures on the river with respect to diversions, whether you're talking about the Bonne Carre which has been opened twice this year, and then consecutive years, each of those for the first time in history, but also the Morganza Spillway, and they do so according to a playbook that only turns on what the stage of the river is, what is the height of the water, and what is the flow rate. So, the interaction with storm surge is not something that they take in to account, and that is because this is the first time we've ever had a storm hit while the Mississippi River was at flood stage, but it's been at flood stage for over 270 consecutive days, the longest in history. 
		So, obviously the Corps is going to have to do some work to make sure that it's paying attention to other factors rather than just the flow rate and the stage. If we believe, and I think we have ample reason to believe, that this won't be the last time that the river is going to be at flood stage when a hurricane approaches or another storm that might cause some storm surge that would interact with the river and potentially cause some levees to be overtopped. As you remember early on with respect to Barry, there was a forecast that the levees in lower Plaquemines Paris, the river levees might overtop. So, something to take in to consideration. The other thing is we need to figure out whether it might be helpful to have additional diversions where we need them for the north on the river to feed the fresh water and the nutrients in to some marsh and swamp that really need that. That could be helpful as well with respect to, and right they're part of our overall plan, but that might help the Corps to better manage the river levels going forward also. 
		The river levels are something that I think we can anticipate this is going to happen going forward, so we need to change our approach. Now, I don't know exactly what that means because, for example had they made the decision once they knew Barry was going to hit, to open the Morganza Spillway, the decreased river stage by the time the water flows to New Orleans would have arrived too late to help. You would have been putting more water down in the Morgan City area, which is exactly where the storm hit. So, this is not an easy exercise to try and figure out what this should look like, but it is something we have to be intentional about especially now that we know it's not just a theoretical possibility. This is something we should anticipate to happen with increasing frequency going forward, and so we're going to have to make sure that we're working with the Corps and they can update what they're doing.
Simone:	11:28	I heard you describe that as a risk transfer, and I think that's really important to think of that way that you're decisions have consequences and when you have to make them, but I'm glad you clarified that on how those structures are even operated. It's something that we need to think about how we can manage that in to the future.
Governor:	11:44	Yeah, and it's not instantaneous. You know, the people in the United States today, we're accustomed to things happen instantaneously, and so it takes a while to stage the equipment, to get the gates open, you typically open in a way that with a soft opening, you make sure the farmers and people who own property and have equipment have an opportunity to move that stuff, and so it's not as easy and instantaneous as a lot of people believe. It wasn't just a risk transfer as it related to the Morganza by the way, relative to might it help lower Plaquemines if we open the Morganza and send more water towards Morgan City, which is where Barry actually ended up making landfall. Should we open all the gates on the Bonne Carre? If that happens, what happens to the Pontchartrain, the Maurepas lake levels because those are going to be influenced by the storm surge as well. [crosstalk 00:12:46]
Simone:	12:46	Does it make them vulnerable, right?
Governor:	12:46	And to St. John the Baptist and Saint Charles, and so you have all these complicated risk transfer issues, and you have timing issues. There is nothing easy about them, and since those structures are under the exclusive control of the Corps of Engineers, I mean we can have conversations with them about it, but we don't control what they do. I think it's essential that we use the time that we have to prepare for the next time that this happens.
Jacques:	13:13	Okay Governor, we're about to head in to a break, if you don't mind holding on for one more segment?
Simone:	13:18	I want to talk about restoration.
Jacques:	13:19	Some more questions that Simone has to get to right when we're back from the break. You're listening to Delta Dispatches.
Simone:	13:25	Okay, that was excellent. You're reading from our notes. 
Governor:	13:29	Did I say anything wrong?
Jacques:	13:29	No sir.
Simone:	13:31	So, if you're okay, we want to jump in to the restoration part and talk about you all doing more work than ever. If you want to talk about TESS, Whiskey Islands, or Caminada, I mean that probably helps you-
Governor:	13:45	Well just the fact that the two biggest projects that we've ever completed, we've got more projects going on now than ever before, but the funding is here- 
Simone:	13:51	Yeah, we might [inaudible 00:13:51]
Governor:	13:51	...and RESTORE and-
Jacques:	13:56	It think we can jump in to addition in the restoration category just asking about both Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton so the diversions are moving forward. 
Simone:	14:01	So basically what you told John Snell again.
Governor:	14:03	Okay.
Simone:	14:06	I am glad that you clarified about Morganza and Bonne Carre because I can tell you on the NGO side we are still hearing chatter about why those decisions were made, so I think that was a good opportunity-
Governor:	14:06	Well, you know-
Simone:	14:16	...to lay it out there.
Governor:	14:17	...people like to think I made the decision too.
Simone:	14:20	I'm glad that you said that.
Jacques:	14:20	Great.
Governor:	14:20	I don't think they did.
Simone:	14:21	So you want to open back up and then we'll-
Jacques:	14:29	Believe in here, and open back up and then you're going to come back with us.
Simone:	14:29	Yeah, I'm just going to say something that I want to talk about restoration.
Jacques:	14:32	Restoration.
Simone:	14:32	I want to talk about some things that you're most proud of and then what you're looking forward to.
Jacques:	14:38	And we're back, you're listening to Delta Dispatches. It's our 100th episode, and we're here with Governor John Bel Edwards. [crosstalk 00:14:45] Welcome back Governor.
Simone:	14:46	So Gov- Yeah, we'd like to touch on before the break we were talking about restoration and can you take a quick look back and say what you're proud of, some accomplishments you're proud of in restoration. We definitely want to look forward as well.
Governor:	15:00	Well, I'm proud of the fact that we really do have a sense of urgency. We're in a race against time, and that's not just a talking point. That's the reality. So, as soon as the revenue streams really became available in a meaningful way, you see us moving forward with large scale projects. In fact the two biggest projects in the history of the state, the Caminada headlands and Whiskey Island, those had both been done in the current year. We're going to have more restoration protection projects in construction than ever before in the history of the state. That's because we have the RESTORE dollars that are now becoming available to us in a significant way, but also the GOMESA funding. 
		I'm also proud of the fact that we are trying to minimize the role that politics plays in this by maximizing the role that science plays because I think you have to do this in a way that engenders public confidence, not just in Louisiana, but around the country in Washington D.C., because at the end of the day, while we have significant revenues coming in, it's not enough to pay for our master plan. So, we're going to need some more help from the federal government, and if we're proceeding in a way in Louisiana that is inconsistent with our plan, inconsistent with science, it's going to be much harder to get Congress to say, "yeah, this should be a national effort and we should bring additional federal resources to Louisiana to help with their master plan".  
		So, you're going to see more construction going on. We're going to make more headway with respect to restoration and protection across coastal Louisiana. There are four and half million people, I'm sorry two and half million people out of the four and half who live here, but two and a half live and work in coastal Louisiana. So, this is incredibly important and I think what you see is a effort that acknowledges that this is essential for Louisiana, that we are in a race against time, there is a sense of urgency, and we've been able to get unanimous votes out of the legislature to advance the master plan. So, that's another idea just how regardless whether you might come from Monroe or Shreveport, this effort along the coast is incredibly important.
Jacques:	17:24	Additionally Governor, there is you know, two coastal master plan projects in Plaquemines Parish, the Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton sediment diversions that are moving forward as part of the engineering and design of those projects. Why are those projects, in your opinion, so important to our future?
Governor:	17:40	Well it sort of goes back to what I said a while ago. If you're going to allow science to dictate what you do and we know that the science community I should say, there is a strong consensus that reconnecting the river to coastal Louisiana to the marshes is the single most important thing we can do from a long term perspective. The sediment was disconnected from the marshes when we levees the river, and we know that up until the time we did that in the late 20s, early 30s, that we were growing land in coastal Louisiana. That reversed that process and started this whole era where we're losing about a football field of land every 90 minutes or so. 
		So, reconnecting is important and doing it on both sides of the river there in Plaquemines Parish. We're going to move forward, and obviously it's still relatively early, and we have to do the entire environmental assessment and we're going to eliminate whatever risks can be eliminated, and those that can't will be minimized. Then we will mitigate it as we need to do that, but reconnecting the sediment from the Mississippi River with coastal Louisiana is really important. The other part of this is we know that we're going to be dredging the Mississippi River forever, and there's beneficial use of that dredge material. If you do that in conjunction with the sediment diversions, then they complement one another and two plus two is six rather than being four. We're going to get a lot more out of the beneficial use of that dredge material when we put it where we want to put it in conjunction with the operation of these sediment diversions. So, we're going to move forward as quickly as we can, but as careful as we need to as well so that we maximize the beneficial impacts of these diversions.
Simone:	19:40	So, can we talk about money? I like to talk about that quite a bit.
Governor:	19:43	Yes.
Simone:	19:44	You hit on GOMESA and the RESTORE dollars becoming available. It's helped us here in Louisiana that we've said that we would put that money towards restoration, and we've stuck to that right?
Governor:	19:54	Well, it's in the Constitution too.
Simone:	19:54	In the Constitution.
Governor:	19:56	So people don't have to worry about these dollars being diverted. In fact, we're not just spending those dollars, but we're spending capital outlay dollars, we're spending surplus dollars-
Simone:	20:08	Surplus.
Governor:	20:08	...and one of the things that I really wanted to do to demonstrate how seriously we take this, is we allocated surplus dollars from last year to make up for some dollars that were diverted previously. In fact, it's in 55 million dollars, which exceeded the amount that was diverted because I wanted people to know just how serious we are about this.
Simone:	20:31	That's helpful to our program, right. We want to build all those projects, we have these large scale projects we all need to put on the ground, and shop talked about the diversions, but we're also looking at a lot of barrier island work next year including we have Queen Bess as well, so three barrier islands, so that money will definitely be put to good use.
Governor:	20:49	Yeah, the Queen Bess, which is going to be done in partnership with Wildlife and Fisheries, that's going to be tremendously important. I think when the people of Louisiana see that we restored the Queen Bess Island and then how integral that is to the population enhancement of brown pelicans for example, and it's obviously more land between the gulf and the people and the levee system. So, it's all going to work in concert. I think all of that is incredibly important, again if you're going to say you have a sense of urgency, and you're in a race against time and you have the funding on hand and you're not delivering projects, then people see through it. You're not serious, and so that's why I've charged Chip Klein and the CPRA of delivering as many projects as possible working with local officials to the maximum extent that we can, working with the Corps of Engineers to make sure we're moving more quickly. We have a lot of work to do around levees, around flood gates and pump stations, in addition to the restoration work that we're doing. 
		So, I'm not prepared to sit here today and say we're doing everything we need to do as fast as we need to do it, I can tell you we're doing a lot better. Much, much better and we're moving as fast as our resource will allow us because we're still more resource constrained then we want to be. We're moving as fast as those resource constraints will allow us. There's a couple things that I think could really help, one of which is if the RESTORE act funding were bondable. You know that would be very, very helpful, but they're not currently and until there's a change in I think the statutory language in Congress, that's not going to be the case, but that's one thing we can try to do to enhance the speed with which we deliver these projects.
Jacques:	22:48	Governor, you've touched on this throughout the interview, but I also want to give you a chance to emphasize. In 2018 at the State of the Coast conference, you indicated that as it relates to Louisiana's coastal land loss crisis, that this is Louisiana's moment. So in terms of in the future looking back, why is this moment in time so critical and why should people rally around the work that's being done to protect and restore Louisiana's coast?
Governor:	23:11	Well this is our time because we can't wait til tomorrow. It's also our time, because I mentioned, we have the significant resources available now, which is unlike what the case was previously, and we have a very good master plan that has now been embraced on three occasions by the legislature. It's in better shape than it's ever been. It is based upon science, and so for all of those reasons, it is our time to deliver as much as we can deliver so that the plan moves from being something that's rather academic and theoretical in to something that is tangible and is producing results. 
		Kind of like the results that we saw with Hurricane Barry where the levees performed so well, much better than they ever have, and not just along the coast but we actually exercised the hurricane risk reduction system for the first time ever in New Orleans and closed all the gates and engaged all the pumps, and it was buttoned up and performed exactly like it was supposed to. I'm not going to tell you it received the tests that we had anticipated, but there was a test of the system, and it performed very well. 
		So this is our time for all of those reasons and more because I'm convinced, as I mentioned earlier, the day is going to come when we're going to have to go back to our congressional delegation and ask them to ask the country for more assistance because we don't have all the resources necessary to deliver the full 50 billion dollar coastal restoration master plan. If we're not moving forward as quickly as we can, based on science and delivering sound projects, how are we ever going to have the confidence of the people in Congress and the American people generally speaking, that yeah that's an investment we want to make. So, this is our time.
Jacques:	25:06	Well I think that's a perfect segue in to our favorite segment on the show which is the fun question.
Governor:	25:13	Okay.
Jacques:	25:13	You know, you mentioned 2.5 million people live and work across coastal Louisiana, but even for people as far north as Shreveport or hey, even Iowa, there's a special relationship that they have with Louisiana's coast. So, the fun question I wanted to ask you Governor, is what is your favorite memory on coastal Louisiana?
Governor:	25:30	Oh wow, so there are a lot of them and they typically involve hunting and fishing and going with my son John Miller who loves those activities probably more than I do, and it's the best quality time that I spend with him because if the ducks aren't flying, you can talk. You can talk the whole time you're fishing. So, I would just tell you, it's going down with John Miller, fishing for trout for red fish, and hunting and just enjoying...you know we know that we live in the sportsman's paradise, and some people take it for granted. I try very, very hard not to, and to not allow my children to do that. So, I will just tell you just being able to get out with him, and by the way, I take my daughters too, but they don't seem to enjoy it as much as he does, and so that's why I talk principally about my son John Miller when it comes to these things. Just to be able to get out there and enjoy the sportsman's paradise and in the tremendous assets that we have in Louisiana that we have along the coast. It's just a beautiful place to be, and it's so much fun to go out and catch fish, come back here, and cook them up or to go out and have a great duck hunt and cook those as well. So that would be my favorite memory.
Jacques:	27:01	Okay, well I think that can resonate with a lot of people, but I won't ask you to reveal your favorite, secret fishing hole. So you can keep that secret.
Simone:	27:10	So Governor, as we wrap up our time with you today, what is the final thought you want to leave, we have audience maybe beyond just Louisiana, mostly Louisiana, what is your final coastal thought that you want to leave folks here with? Whether it be that look back or that look forward.
Governor:	27:29	Well, for decades we've been talking about coastal land loss as just being a tremendous challenge, and it one that would potentially adversely impact all of those people who live and work along the coast, and I want them to start looking not so much as a challenge, although it remains a challenge, but as an opportunity. It's an opportunity to get something right, and to develop in Louisiana, not only a plan that works and the funding necessary to implement the plan, but to develop a level of expertise and experience whether it's the Water Institute of the Gulf or whether it's the universities, the non-profit sector. Everybody who's dedicated to coastal restoration protection, we're going to develop and exportable commodity that will be in demand across the globe and around the country in a way that it's not today because about 40 percent of the people in the United States of America live in a coastal county. 
		So, we may be the canary in the coal mine, but this is an issue coming to other states all around our country, and certainly it's going to be visited upon countries around the world. I believe the day is coming soon, when people are going to say we have this problem, who do we go to for help? Who has the experience, the expertise, the knowledge to deal with this? They're going to come knocking on the doors of folks right here in Louisiana. So, there's a lot of jobs that can be created here as we restore the coast, as we engage in these protection projects, and then this is going to be a growth industry around the world, and just another place where I think we can take advantage of an opportunity and not just a challenge.
Jacques:	29:22	Well I think that's an excellent spot to end the conversation, and again Governor thank you so much for your time and for all of your work on Louisiana's coast. That was an amazing conversation. It's going to be hard to top episode 100 going forward I think Simone.
Governor:	29:38	Thank you Jacques and Simone, appreciate it.
Simone:	29:40	Thank you Governor, appreciate it. Good?
Jacques:	29:40	Good?
Speaker 4:	29:40	Good.
Jacques:	29:47	Hopefully that was pretty painless and that was excellent, thank you so much. 
Simone:	29:49	You prepped him that well, he took everything and great, we didn't have to lead him anywhere. That's great.
Jacques:	29:55	Yeah.

This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2019 - view latest version here.



DeltaDispatch-07222019-Trascript (Completed  07/23/19)
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