Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) released the following statement today regarding a $3,209,063 Center of Excellence Research Grant for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA)'s partnership with the Water Institute of the Gulf (the Water Institute). The grant is funded under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act) and it is CPRA's second grant in this category.

"Restoring the coast and protecting our communities from hurricanes is not just about dumping dirt along the coast. The Mississippi River system literally created our state and it is integral to saving us. This partnership between the CPRA and the Water Institute helps to ensure that we are building upon our successes and only make the same mistake once. We have got to get this right to truly save our coast and save our coastal communities. This investment helps to make that happen," Graves said.

Graves, who formerly chaired Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, was Louisiana's lead trustee for the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and instrumental in the early negotiations that have made funding possible. On February 12, 2020, Graves released a statement following the RESTORE Council's approval of $130 million of Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement dollars for the River Reintroduction into the Maurepas Swamp Project.

About the Program and Grant:

The goal of the program is to provide timely, robust, and actionable research findings to improve understanding of coastal and deltaic system dynamics with relevance to Coastal Master Plan implementation; and to generate data, models and other tools which can be used to improve restoration and management of activities that support sustainable and resilient coastal ecosystems and communities within Louisiana.

This new grant award will:

1. continue a current research project that expires on October 31, 2020,
2. fund the existing center, The Water Institute of the Gulf, to select and implement a maximum of 10 additional competitively-awarded research projects to focus on issues relevant to the State of Louisiana to advance the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan,
3. continue coordination with other Centers of Excellence and Gulf Coast state, and
4. fund CPRA's administration of the program, including subrecipient monitoring.

The scope of work will focus on four of the five eligible disciplines:

1. Coastal and deltaic sustainability, restoration, and protection, including solutions and technology that allow citizens to live in a safe and sustainable manner in a coastal delta in the Gulf Coast Region;
2. Coastal fisheries and wildlife ecosystem research and monitoring in the Gulf Coast Region;
3. Sustainable and resilient growth and economic and commercial development in the Gulf Coast Region; and
4. Comprehensive observation, monitoring, and mapping of the Gulf of Mexico.