Re-engineering the Mississippi Delta: A Fresh look at Upriver Diversions

March 6, 2022

Re-plumbing the Mississippi River - Can we do better?

On this episode, hosts Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham turn their attention to the dynamic Louisiana coast and the struggle to protect the City of New Orleans from Mississippi River floods. Joining the show is Dr. Devyani Kar, Senior Manager and Scientist with the Environmental Defennse Fund, to share new research that shows how upriver river diversions can restore vital wetlands and reduce the impacts of Bonnet Carré Spillway openings, the current flood control measure (operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) that flows into Lake Pontchartrain. Then, we discuss how Louisiana stacks up against other state coastal restoration programs and why Louisiana's program is forging the way forward. We close our discussion with Dr. Kar with another project she is working on to harnessing nature-based solutions to reduce Gulf Coast flood and chemical exposure risk in Galveston Bay, particularly from petrochemical complexes. An nformative and insightful discussion, just what you expect from ASPN!

Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.