“The science has not changed, nor has the need for urgent action,” said Kim Reyher, executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. “What has changed is the political landscape.”
While the project had largely received bipartisan support and was championed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry became a vocal opponent after taking office last year. He recoiled at the price and amplified concerns that the massive influx of freshwater would destroy fisheries that local communities rely on for their livelihoods.
“We fought this battle a long time, but Gov. Landry is the reason we won this battle,” said Mitch Jurisich, chair of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, who was suing the state over the project’s environmental impacts. “He really turned the tide.”
The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, a coalition of federal agencies overseeing settlement funds from the 2010 Gulf oil spill, said in a Thursday statement that the Mid-Barataria project is “no longer viable” for a range of reasons including litigation and the suspension of a federal permit after the state issued a stop-work order on the project.
A spokesperson for Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority confirmed to The Associated Press that the state is canceling the project.
