§ 49:214.29 — Special areas, projects, and programs

Louisiana § 49:214.29

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 49: State Administration

Text

§214.29. Special areas, projects, and programs
A. Special areas are areas within the coastal zone which have unique and valuable
characteristics requiring special management procedures. Special areas may include
important geological formations, such as beaches, barrier islands, shell deposits, salt domes,
or formations containing deposits of oil, gas or other minerals; historical or archaeological
sites; corridors for transportation, industrialization or urbanization; areas subject to flooding,
subsidence, salt water intrusion or the like; unique, scarce, fragile, vulnerable, highly
productive or essential habitat for living resources; ports or other developments or facilities
dependent upon access to water; recreational areas; freshwater storage areas; and such other
areas as may be determined pursuant to this Section.
B. The secretary may adopt, after notice and public hearing, rules for the
identification, designation, and utilization of special areas and for the establishing of
guidelines or priorities of uses in each area.
C. Those areas and facilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Offshore Terminal
Authority are deemed to be special areas. The environmental protection plan required by
R.S. 34:3113 shall constitute the management guidelines for this special area and shall
continue to be administered and enforced by the Offshore Terminal Authority or its successor
in accordance with the policies and objectives of the state program.
D. The secretary shall have the authority to set priorities, consistent with this
Subpart, for funding available under Section 308 of the Federal Coastal Zone Management
Act (PL 92-583 as amended by PL 94-370).
E. The secretary is authorized to assist approved local programs and state and local
agencies carrying out projects consistent with the guidelines, related to the management,
development, preservation, or restoration of specific sites in the coastal zone or to the
development of greater use and enjoyment of the resources of the coastal zone by financial,
technical, or other means, including aid in obtaining federal funds.
F. Notwithstanding any law, order, or regulation to the contrary, the secretary shall
prepare a freshwater diversion plan for the state in order to reserve or offset land loss and salt
water encroachment in Louisiana's coastal wetlands. As part of this plan the secretary shall
prepare specific recommendations as to those locations which are most in need of freshwater
diverted from the Mississippi River and other water bodies of the state, and he shall include
the projected costs thereof and the order of priority.
G. The secretary shall develop an indexing system whereby those wetland, coastline,
and barrier island areas which are undergoing rapid change or are otherwise considered
critical shall be identified; and the secretary shall also undertake a pilot program to create one
or more artificial barrier islands in order to determine the effectiveness of such islands in
controlling shoreline erosion.
H. The governor may, upon recommendation by the secretary and after consultation
with the attorney general as to any adverse impact on the coastline, enter into agreements
with the United States regarding the construction, maintenance, and operation of projects
along the coastline and in the Gulf of America. The agreements may provide that such
projects shall not affect the location of the shoreline or boundaries of the state.
{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1989, 2D EX. SESS., NO. 6, §7.}}

Legislative History

Acts 1978, No. 361, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1978, No. 777, §1; Acts 1979, No. 561, §1; Acts 1979, No. 574, §1; Acts 1979, No. 613, §1, eff. July 18, 1979; Acts 1983, No. 591, §2, eff. July 14, 1983; Acts 1984, No. 408, §1, eff. July 6, 1984; Acts 2025, No. 105, §3, eff. June 8, 2025; Acts 2025, No. 458, §9, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.