The Breaux Act
CWPPRA
“We say we’re going to use it, fish it, hunt, farm it. But we’re [also] going to preserve it,” Breaux once said. And the citizens of his state responded. In 1986, Louisiana church groups began holding forums to discuss the coastal crisis. Then in 1989, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and several local coastal zone advisory boards began holding meetings to discuss the problem.
Prompted by these efforts and rising public concern, the state took an unprecedented step by forming a multi-agency coastal restoration authority supported by an oil and gas revenue trust fund. Known as Act 6, the state legislation formed a template for the forthcoming federal legislation, calling for a task force of state agencies and an annual plan for proposed projects.
Bill Good, former administrator of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Restoration Division, said, “In terms of technology, science and the overall learning curve, we are light years ahead now from where we were then. It was very exciting to watch it all unfold.”
Also in 1989, the state’s commitment was voiced when an overwhelming majority of Louisiana’s citizens passed a constitutional amendment ensuring funding for the effort. That same year, Louisiana experts spoke ardently on coastal land loss before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Outreach & Education
Stakeholders, community organizations, government agencies and the general public are continually apprised of the Breaux Act program to preserve the coast through frequent communications and outreach activities. These include the publication WaterMarks, the Web site www.lacoast.gov, a speaker’s bureau, the email newsletter Breaux Act Newsflash, frequent media contacts, free education materials and teacher workshops. For further information, or to receive the Newsflash, contact Gabrielle Bodin, Outreach Coordinator, CWPPRA, at (337) 266-8623, or email: Gabrielle_Bodin@usgs.gov
While the rest of the country took little notice, local momentum grew and Louisianans spoke out about the crisis they saw developing around them. An enormous and complex task lay ahead, and Breaux took up the challenge by co-sponsoring federal legislation to forge a vital partnership between the state and five federal agencies.
Breaux succeeded in attaching his legislation to a bill that was likely to pass, and on November 29, 1990, the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) was signed into law by former President George H.W. Bush as a section of the “Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act.”
The Breaux Act, as it quickly became known, reflected the senator’s foresight in establishing dependable funding. The landmark legislation is tied to a continuing trust fund, the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, drawn from small-engine fuel taxes.While the Breaux Act provides annual funding, it does not guarantee construction funds for each project on the annual Priority Project List.
Still, coastal restoration and preservation activities can proceed without the inherent risks associated with the annual federal appropriations process.
Mandates of the Breaux Act
- Create a Task Force including the secretaries of the Army, Interior, Agriculture and Commerce, the Administrator of EPA and the Governor of Louisiana
- Submit a Priority Project List each year
- Submit a status report to Congress every three years
- Include demonstration projects
- Produce a state coastal restoration plan that includes:
- a goal of achieving no net loss of wetlands from development
- designation of a single state agency responsible for implementation and enforcement
- means to account for wetland gains and losses
- assurance that the state will have adequate personnel, funding and authority to implement the plan
- public education activities
- encourage use of technology by developers to reduce impacts on wetlands
- review of ways to assist landowners in wetland protection
- Study the feasibility of increasing flow and sediment from the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya River
- Contributed costs as 75 percent federal / 25 percent state until the submission of a comprehensive coastal restoration plan, after which the allocation is 85 federal, 15 percent state
- Allow for up to 10 percent of the state share to be in the form of in-kind contributions such as land, easements or rights-of-way
Success Through Cooperation
The Breaux Act Task Force consists of five federal agencies and the state of Louisiana, which acts as local sponsor for restoration projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chairs the Task Force and manages project accounting, but otherwise the five agencies are equal in representation and duties. The Task Force members are:
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. Department of Interior)
- Natural Resources Conservation Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
- National Marine Fisheries Service (U.S. Department of Commerce)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (U.S. Department of the Army)
- State of Louisiana
Coastal America Award
The Breaux Act Task Force, its associated committees and 19 coastal parishes received the Coastal America 2004 Partnership Award in August 2004. Presented on behalf of the President and the 12 federal departments that comprise the Coastal America Partnership, it recognized the Task Force’s partnerships in restoring and protecting the coastal wetlands of Louisiana.
Through working committees and constant contact with outside experts, coastal stakeholders and the general public, the Task Force formulates projects to be added to the yearly Priority Project List.
As Breaux once remarked, “We’re in a race against the clock. We cannot save every acre of land, but we can sustain the value of this remarkable landscape—understanding that such a complex problem requires a comprehensive solution.”
Land Mass, Terrebonne area, 1932 (top) and 2000 (bottom).
Images Courtesy of USGS