{"id":281372,"date":"2010-02-02T14:42:55","date_gmt":"2010-02-02T19:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/restorationandresilience\/?p=42"},"modified":"2010-02-02T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2010-02-02T19:42:55","slug":"coastal-restoration-projects-secure-proportional-spending-boost-in-fy-2011-cpra-draft-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/281372","title":{"rendered":"Coastal Restoration Projects Secure Proportional Spending Boost in FY 2011 CPRA Draft Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Mark Schleifstein reported in last Friday\u2019s edition<\/a>\u00a0of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) released its preliminary $621 million annual plan <\/a>for review ahead of public hearings\u00a0scheduled for\u00a0February 8 – 10. Despite overall budget cuts of nearly $74 million, coastal restoration is slated to receive a higher fraction of CPRA funds in FY 2011 than in FY 2010. Using a broad budget\/employment conversion factor from the Economic Policy Institute of 20.3 jobs per budgeted million,\u00a0we estimate that\u00a0$300 million in FY11\u00a0funding will translate into more than 6,000 jobs<\/strong> in wetland restoration.<\/p>\n

\"Coastal<\/p>\n

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Spending, FY 2011-2013 (Source: CPRA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This marks the first time in the authority's three-year history that a larger share of agency expenditure will be bracketed for\u00a0ecosystem rehabilitation\u00a0than levee construction. Still, FY11 funding for the Morganza to the Gulf<\/a> levee project, at $82.2 million, is nearly twice as much as the largest line item in the coastal restoration budget.<\/p>\n

\"Breakdown<\/p>\n

Breakdown of FY11 CPRA Spending (Source: CPRA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The five biggest coastal restoration line items, accounting for more than one-sixth of FY11 spending, are:<\/p>\n