Feds press Louisiana on its commitment to a stalled billion-dollar coastal restoration project

Associated Press/Report for America

NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — Federal officials are seeking answers over the future of a nearly $3 billion planned coastal restoration project in southeast Louisiana that litigation has stalled. Federal officials warned in a letter Friday that Louisiana would be expected to return federal funds allocated for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion if the state does not pursue the project as designed. Local oystermen have filed a federal lawsuit over the project, and last year Plaquemines Parish authorities sued the state agency overseeing the project. Construction remains largely halted as negotiations drag on. Supporters of the project are concerned it will be canceled or significantly reduced in size.