Louisiana wetlands experts search for answers in Vietnam's Mekong Delta
By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 20, 2013.
"The Louisiana-based America’s WETLAND Foundation and Vietnam National University are holding the Deltas 2013 Vietnam conference this week in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The conference, expected to host about 300 wetlands experts from around the world, will allow Louisiana and Vietnam representatives to share best practices and ideas to help save the Mississippi and Mekong deltas, two river systems that suffer from similar problems, including dramatic land loss…" (Read more)

Louisiana Wetlands Experts Exchanging Ideas At Vietnam Conference
By Eileen Fleming, WWNO (New Orleans). May 21, 2013.
"Members of the America’s Wetland Foundation are in Vietnam this week to collaborate on river management. Dutch experts are also participating…" (Read more)

Louisiana's Bayou Is Sinking: Can $50 Billion Save It?
By Tim Folger, National Geographic. May 17, 2013.
"When Terry Serigny was growing up in Leeville, Louisiana, in the 1950s, the Mississippi River Delta town was also known as Orange City for its many citrus groves. Today none of those groves remain. Leeville itself is vanishing, sinking into the Gulf of Mexico…" (Read more)

Coastal restoration is focus of 'Coastal Conversations' series in French Quarter
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 17, 2013.
"The Louisiana State Museum is hosting a panel discussion on coastal restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast and implementation of the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan on May 23 at 6 p.m…" (Read more)

LDWF seeks rare bird shooter; reward offered
May 17, 2013 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials are looking for leads regarding a whooping crane that was found shot to death in Red River Parish…" (Read more)

BP blasts US judge in fight against compensation claims
Russia Today. May 17, 2013.
"Oil giant BP has petitioned a US court regarding the company’s payouts stemming from its 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, accusing a judge of allowing “absurd” compensation claims and a “raid on its coffers…" (Read more)

BP Oil Spill Claims Chief Braces for Surge in Filings
By Kathy Finn, Insurance Journal. May 17, 2013.
"The deadline for claims against BP Plc in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the man responsible for paying the claims said on Thursday he is already bracing for a late surge in filings…" (Read more)

Corps declares massive hurricane project complete
By John Snell, WVUE-TV. May 17, 2013.
"Plaquemines Parish, LA—For the first time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the hurricane risk-reduction system for metro New Orleans will be finished this season…" (Read more)

Bill would stop feared Louisiana levee
The Sun Herald. May 16, 2013.
"WASHINGTON — The water-projects bill the U.S. Senate passed this week could promote investment in ports and protect the Coast from Louisiana flood-control projects…" (Read more)

Jack Payne: Science and support needed in Gulf Coast restoration
The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun. May 16, 2013.
"Noted American satirist and journalist H.L. Mencken once said, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong…" (Read more)

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — How We Got This Way: Rising Seas, Sinking Land
By Bob Marshall, WWNO. May 16, 2013.
"The clang of tide gauges throughout parts of southeast Louisiana aren’t from a science fiction movie, though they may make residents feel like they’re caught in one…" (Read more)

Louisiana lists 39 restoration projects that would be financed with BP oil spill fine money
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 15, 2013.
"Louisiana coastal officials have put together a list of 39 restoration projects that they hope will be partially or fully financed by money the state or federal agencies expect to receive as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill…" (Read more)

Program aims to boost La. seafood industry
By Timothy Boone, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). May 15, 2013.
"A program to help the state’s seafood industry by establishing better ties between fishermen and consumers got a major boost Tuesday when one of the first products designated as “Certified Authentic Louisiana Wild Seafood” was unveiled…" (Read more)

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation fund is launched to restore Louisiana, Gulf Coast natural resources
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). May 13, 2013.
"The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on Monday announced the creation of a fund that will administer $2.5 billion from criminal plea agreements approved earlier this year between BP and Transocean and the federal government concerning the companies’ roles in the blowout of BP’s Macondo oil well, the fire and explosion aboard Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 crew members, and the ensuing three-month uncontrolled release of oil into the Gulf of Mexico…" (Read more)

New Data Shows Mitigation Banks Can Speed Approval Process
By Jemma Penelope, Ecosystem Marketplace). May 13, 2013.
"13 May 2013 | NEW ORLEANS | USA | Mitigation bankers have long claimed that their combination of simplicity, commodification, and regulation offers the most environmentally effective and economically efficient vehicle for approving development projects that require mitigation…" (Read more)

Saving the delta is a pipe dream sans sediment diversion projects.
By Len Bahr, LaCoast Post. May 13, 2013.
"Last week the concentration of atmospheric CO2 reached 400 ppm, more than at any time in human history. This is the legacy of a century of accelerating combustion of fossil carbon, which has triggered dramatic changes in a climate pattern that had been extraordinarily stable for eleven millennia. The world ocean is warming, expanding and becoming more acidic, with very serious coastal consequences…" (Read more)

The River and the Dredge build land together
By Scott Eustis, Gulf Restoration Network. May 13, 2013.
"As you may have seen from our last GulfTides video, some of the money from BP fines will pay to build land using the Mississippi River. Restoring the river to the delta is the "lynchpin" of Louisiana's Coastal Restoration program, as embodied in the Coastal Master Plan…" (Read more)

Boxer seeks Sacramento levee funding in water bill
By Curtis Tate, McClatchy. May 12, 2013.
"WASHINGTON – In contrast to contentious debates over issues such as guns, immigration and the federal budget, a bill to address critical water infrastructure – including flood protection for Sacramento – looked like it might have an easier time getting through a divided U.S. Senate…" (Read more)

Huge Swamp Rats are Eating Louisiana
By Sean Breslin, The Weather Channel. May 9, 2013.
"They're huge, they're nasty, and now, they're becoming an invasive problem for Louisiana…" (Read more)

Levee meant to contain sinkhole water breaches
The Associated Press. May 10, 2013.
"BAYOU CORNE, La. (AP) – Water continues to pour into a massive Assumption Parish sinkhole after five holes opened in the levee surrounding it…" (Read more)

Worldwide, rising global temperature is a threat to coastal communities in the form of rising sea levels and stronger hurricanes. Last week, the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans hosted a presentation by Virginia Burkett, Ph.D., Chief Scientist for Global Climate and Land Use Change at the United States Geological Survey. In Dr. Burkett’s presentation, “Climate Change and Sea Level Rise: Implications for New Orleans,” she discussed the science of climate change and the threats sea level rise present to the vulnerable low-lying landscape and communities of coastal Louisiana. Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan acknowledges these threats and outlines a 50-year plan for protection and restoration that takes into account subsidence, sea level rise and increased storm frequency and intensity.

Long Term Relative Sea Level Trends for the United States. Source: NOAA.

Global sea level rise is a consequence of water influx from melting glaciers and ice sheets and the expansion of ocean water as it is heated. During the 20th century, global sea level rose approximately eight inches, but satellite data indicates that the annual rate of sea level rise has almost doubled over the last 20 years. As the different processes that affect melting of large ice sheets are still the subject of intense scientific study, the range of predicted sea level rise in this century ranges from 0.6 to 6.6 feet, but  the most likely range of sea level rise is between one and four feet.

While the predicted rate of global sea level rise is enough to cause concern for many coastal regions, in Louisiana, the threat is intensified as not only is sea level rising, but the land is also sinking. Subsidence can occur due to natural geological processes, such as dewatering and compaction of deposited river sediments over time, but it can also be increased by human actions, such as groundwater withdrawal and oil and gas extraction. Subsidence rates across Louisiana’s coast vary, but in many areas, the rate of subsidence far exceeds the global rate of sea level rise. The combination of global sea level rise and local subsidence means that the local sea level will rise sooner and higher in Louisiana than in most other places in the world.

Sea Level Trends. Source: NOAA

At the conclusion of her talk, Dr. Burkett had a few recommendations for actions we here in Louisiana can take to adapt to sea level rise and increase the resiliency of our coastal communities and coastline. For coastal communities, elevating and flood-proofing infrastructure are important steps for adapting to the increased threat of inundation from sea level rise and hurricanes, but in some cases, retreat from low-lying coastal areas may be necessary.

We can better manage our coast by factoring our understanding of the natural processes and trends and by getting sediment from the Mississippi River into the wetlands. As one of the most vulnerable areas to sea level rise in the United States, coastal Louisiana will serve as the testing ground for scientific innovation and policy that will likely shape the response of coastal communities throughout the country to the threats of climate change and sea level rise.

Water bill could see smooth sailing in Senate, despite critics
By Curtis Tate, McClatchy. May 9, 2013.
"WASHINGTON — Amid sharply partisan exchanges over guns, immigration and the federal budget, the debate that began in the Senate this week over a water resources bill seems relatively tame…" (read more)

FEMA will revise flood maps to credit local levees, Louisiana officials say
By Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune. May 9, 2013.
"WASHINGTON — The head of the federal flood insurance program is promising to redo flood-risk maps to take locally built levees into consideration, according to Louisiana officials who met Thursday with David Miller, the associate administrator of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration…" (read more)

Ex-BP executive's trial delayed
By the Associated Press. May 9, 2013.
"NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has agreed to postpone the trial of a former BP executive charged with concealing information from Congress about the amount of oil that was leaking from the company's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010…" (read more)

On April 20, 2013, to mark three years of BP's ongoing disaster, local groups and citizens gathered to memorialize all that has been lost, call out BP for the ongoing effects of the spill, and take a stand to fight for justice in the Gulf.

Below is our video from that event. Watch it and share it, and be sure to follow the link at the end to take action to tell BP it's time to pay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl0Mmrw-xx0

"We look at coastal restoration as the future of our company." — Dwayne Bernal, CEO, Royal Engineering

Dwayne Bernal, CEO, Royal Engineering.

Royal Engineering & Consultants, LLC (Royal), a New Orleans-based engineering and consulting firm, is one of the many innovative businesses committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast after the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. Led by CEO Dwayne Bernal, Royal is dedicated to serving the public in a way that focuses not only on individual projects, but also on rebuilding strong local communities. The company’s 75 employees work in a variety of areas, including civil engineering, construction management, program/project management, environmental services, energy services and coastal engineering. Passage of last year’s RESTORE Act is expected to provide significant new funding for coastal restoration. This infusion will in turn benefit local companies like Royal and provide opportunities for them to grow.

"The RESTORE Act provides a catalytic opportunity for our nation to create and protect jobs, not only along the Gulf Coast, but in communities across the country that will provide materials, technologies and services for ecosystem restoration," says Dwayne. "We look at coastal restoration as the future of our company."

Royal’s coastal engineering services include but are not limited to: planning and design of ecosystem restoration projects, hydraulic and hydrodynamic modeling, shoreline protection, beneficial use of dredged material, marsh creation design and barrier island restoration. As coastal restoration funding is allocated to the Gulf Coast states as directed through the RESTORE Act, more projects like these will be approved, creating job and business growth opportunities for companies like Royal Engineering.

Royal Engineering's office in New Orleans.

Bernal, who was born and raised in New Orleans, formed Royal in 2005, after witnessing the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on his hometown. "I worked in the engineering field for several local companies and then Hurricane Katrina hit, and I saw that basically as an opportunity to take that entrepreneurial spirit that I had within me and start my own organization," said Dwayne. One week after Hurricane Katrina, with 15 employees, Dwayne created Royal Engineering. Initially, the company assisted with hurricane cleanup, working on debris removal and quality assurance. But as time went by, Dwayne diversified Royal and added additional services and areas of expertise.

Following the devastation of Katrina, Dwayne realized that restoration of the Gulf was going to take more time and effort than anyone had predicted, and that everyone would need to play a role in order to restore the region and create a more sustainable environment for the future. Like so many other people throughout the Gulf Coast, Dwayne recognizes that the future of his beloved city and the Mississippi River Delta depends on the restoration efforts of companies like Royal Engineering. And Royal isn't planning on leaving New Orleans or the business of coastal restoration any time soon.