Miles O’Brien:
So why would a diversion project be controversial at all? Let’s take a look at one of them to try to understand why. This is New Orleans here. Here’s the Bird’s Foot, and the river, which runs between the two of them.
In 2023, construction began on the $2.9 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. The idea, when the Mississippi had enough water to spare, water would be diverted into Barataria Bay right about here to make these wetlands more healthy.
But the problem is down here is a big oyster area, and the salinity of the water for oysters is very critical. This would have a great impact on those businesses. The oyster industry led the charge of opposition. Governor Jeff Landry withdrew state support, and the project is now dead.
