"Louisiana's 50-Year Coastal Master Plan Seen as $71 Billion Short"

"Louisiana's projections for funding its 50-year master plan for coastal restoration and hurricane storm surge protection are at least $71 billion short of the inflation-adjusted $91.7 billion price tag, according to a study released Friday (Nov. 6) by the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy.

The state has already fallen behind on spending money each year to implement the plan, which was adopted by the Legislature in 2007 with a $50 billion price tag, and updated in 2012, according to the report. The state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which oversees the plan, has continued to use the original $50 billion cost estimate, but its staff has acknowledged that that price tag would have to be adjusted upwards because of inflation.

The study, by Tulane Law School professor Mark Davis, used an inflation rate of 2.3 percent per year, the average rate between 2005 and 2014. It predicts the full cost of the plan will rise above $91 million."

Mark Schleifstein reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune November 6, 2015.