§ 49:214.5.3 — Coastal protection annual plans; development; priorities

Louisiana § 49:214.5.3

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 49: State Administration

Text

§214.5.3. Coastal protection annual plans; development; priorities
A.(1) The board shall, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section,
develop a master plan for integrated coastal protection and an annual plan for integrated
coastal protection for protecting, conserving, enhancing, and restoring the coastal area
through the construction and management of integrated coastal protection projects and
programs, including privately funded marsh management projects or plans, and addressing
those activities requiring a coastal use permit which significantly affect such projects, all
consistent with the legislative intent as expressed in R.S. 49:214.1, and which plan shall be
subject to the approval of the legislature as provided in Subsections B and E of this Section.
In addition, the board, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section including
legislative approval, shall review, revise, and amend the master plan when necessary or, at
a minimum, every six years.
(2) The master plan and the annual plan shall include requests for funding of projects
and programs related to integrated coastal protection. The annual plan shall include at least
a three-year projection of funding of projects and programs related to integrated coastal
protection, including but not limited to relevant public or private funding sources.
B. The board shall develop the master and annual plans in accordance with the
following procedure:
(1) The board shall conduct not less than three public hearings in separate locations
in the western, central, and eastern areas of the coastal area for the purpose of receiving
comments and recommendations from the public and elected officials. All public hearings
must be held at least sixty days prior to the submission of the plans to the legislature.
(2) At least two weeks prior to each public hearing the board shall contact the parish
governing authorities, regional flood protection authorities, levee districts, and the state
legislators of the parishes in the coastal area for the purpose of soliciting their comments and
recommendations and notifying them of the public hearing to be held in their area.
(3) Ten days prior to the first such public hearing the board shall publish in the
Louisiana Register and the official state journal the schedule of public hearings setting out
the location, place, and time of all the hearings.
(4) At least seven days prior to each hearing the board shall publish a notice of the
hearing in the official journal of each parish within the area of the hearing. The notice of a
hearing shall have been published in the official journal of each parish in the coastal area
prior to the final scheduled public hearing. The board may provide for additional public
hearings when necessary upon at least three days notice published in the official journal of
the parishes in the area of the hearing and written notice to the parish governing authorities.
(5) The board shall receive written comments and recommendations until thirty days
prior to the submission of the master and annual plans to the legislative committees.
C. The master plan shall address integrated coastal protection efforts from both
short-term and long-range perspectives and shall incorporate structural, management, and
institutional components of both efforts. The plan shall include but not be limited to the
following:
(1) A list of projects and programs required for the protection, conservation,
enhancement, and restoration of the coastal area and the action required of each state agency
to implement said project or program.
(2) A schedule and estimated cost for the implementation of each project or program
included in the master plan.
D.(1) Where feasible, the master plan shall include scientific data and other reasons,
including but not limited to the social, geographic, economic, engineering, and biological
considerations as to why each project or program was selected for inclusion. Specifically,
this will include an explanation as to how each project or program advances the plan
objectives with respect to the protection, conservation, enhancement, and restoration of the
coastal area.
(2) Prior to recommending any project for inclusion in the master plan, the board
shall identify and declare in writing:
(a) The public use benefits intended to be derived from the project which justify the
project.
(b) The use benefits which private landowners are expected to derive from the
project.
(c) The manner in which the benefits will be realized over the life of the project.
(d) The entities or persons who will be responsible for the long-term operation and
maintenance of the project both in terms of manpower and cost.
(e) The entities or persons who will be responsible for monitoring the project to
ensure that it is functioning properly and realizing the intended public and private benefits.
E.(1) After adoption by the board, the master plan shall be submitted to the House
Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee on Natural
Resources and the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and
the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works for approval. In
addition, the annual plan shall be submitted to the House Committee on Natural Resources
and Environment and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee
on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the Senate Committee on
Transportation, Highways and Public Works on or before the fifteenth day of the regular
legislative session of each year. The committees shall take action on the annual plan on or
before June first of each calendar year.
(2) If any committee disapproves a plan, it shall send the plan back to the authority
together with a brief summary of the reasons for disapproval and may make
recommendations concerning changes it deems necessary or appropriate to remedy any
deficiencies in the plan.
(3) The legislature may approve or disapprove a plan by resolution adopted by a
majority vote of the members of each house of the legislature. If the legislature disapproves
a plan, it shall include in the resolution a brief summary of the reasons for disapproval and
may make recommendations concerning any changes it deems necessary or appropriate to
remedy any deficiencies in the plan.
(4) If the legislature approves the master plan, or if the legislature fails to take action
on the master plan within sixty days after the plan is submitted, the board shall provide for
implementation of the plan as submitted. If the legislature approves the annual plan, or if the
legislature fails to disapprove the annual plan by July first, the board shall provide for
implementation of the plan as submitted. The projects and programs provided for in the
annual plan shall be undertaken in conformity with the order of priority as contained in the
annual plan.
(5) At any time subsequent to the adoption or implementation of a plan in accordance
with the procedure set forth herein, the board may amend or supplement the plan to add or
delete projects and programs. No project shall be added or deleted unless and until the
amendment to the plan is approved as provided herein. Any such amendment to the plan
submitted to the legislature shall conform to the requirements specified in Subsections B and
D of this Section.

Legislative History

Acts 2009, No. 523, §3, eff. July 10, 2009; Acts 2012, No. 604, §3, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2013, No. 220, §23, eff. June 11, 2013; Acts 2018, No. 244, §1.