LEERC is a blend of economic and environmental interests that we believe requires a new word to describe. That word is �environomic,� depicting a comprehensive mixture of environmental and economic opportunity for restoring an extremely significant part of coastal Louisiana, while providing a world-class intermodal system. The concept includes the following multi-modal initiatives:
*An Access Corridor to Support Outer-Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Production.
*Hurricane Evacuation Routes.
*Coastal Protection and Restoration as Proposed by the State�s Coast 2050 Plan.
*Container Port.
Geography makes Louisiana uniquely situated to become a major international transportation hub. especially for growing markets in nearby Latin America. The Mississippi River, the busiest river in the world, provides water commerce access from the proposed airport to two-thirds of the continental United States and around the globe. In addition, the inclusion of superior rail and highway transportation, would further strengthen the airport�s position as a world-class aviation facility
THE INTERNATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL AIRPORT IS A VITAL LINK IN LEERD:
IT PROVIDES A SIGNIFiCANT INTERMODAL LINK BETWEEN AIR TRANSPORTATION AND MARINE. RAIL AND HIGHWAY TRANSPORT. IN THIS WAY, TIME-SENSITIVE CARGO COULD BE TRANSFERRED WUICKLY WITHIN LOUISIANA AND BEYOND.
The new highway would not only provide direct access to this nation�s domestic oil and gas activity, it would also provide a hurricane evacuation route for thousands of south Louisiana residents and offshore workers, as well as access to this state�s only inhabited barrier island. In addition, the highway would support LOOP, the $850 million Louisiana Offshore Oil Port that handles 13 percent of the nation�s foreign oil and an ever-increasing share of domestic oil. Its connection by pipeline to 35 percent of U.S refining capacity is extremely critical to this nation�s energy supply.
*Provide a direct highway connection between the Mississippi River; the proposed airport complex and the Gulf of Mexico.
An integral component of Coast 2050 is a major conveyance channel connecting the Mississippi River to the Barataria and Terrebonne basins. This channel, patterned after the Wax Lake Outlet, would provide a number of environmental and economic benefits to the state as identified in LEERC.
(CONVEYANCE CHANNEL) REGIONAL BENEFITS
Ecosystems
Dependable Potable
Water Supply
Transportation and
Economic Development
Corridor
By- Pass Historic District
Introduction of River Water, Sediment, Nutrients to Wetlands
Reduction of Mississippi
River Flood Elevations
Reduction of Annoxic Conditions in Gulf
The final ongoing initiative and major piece of the LEERC proposal is based on our shipping strengths, specifically the Millennium Port, a project to make Louisiana a major player in the Gulf of Mexico container trade by accommodating large ships on or near our coast. This concept initiated by the Port of New Orleans is now being pursued by the Louisiana Millennium Port Authority.
Several sites are now being studied as possible locations for this container port, one of which is Port Fourchon. It is this location that would provide the most positive benefits to the state and the regional inter-modal plan we call LEERC.
THE BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING A CONTAINER PORT IN 5OUTH LOUISIANA ARE NUMEROUS
INDUSTRY CENTERED AROUND CARGO TRADE, PRIMARILY
WITH THE GROWING ECONOMIES OF LATIN AMERICA.
JOBS CREATION AND THE SECONDARY ECONOMIC IMPACTS JOBS CONTRIBUTE TO A REGION.
INCREASED PRIVATE AND PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN LOUISIANA.
OFFSHORE CURRENTS COME INTO THE FOURCHON BEACHHEAD AND SPLIT, THUS REDUCING THE SAND TRANSFER AVAILABLE TO SILT THE CHANNEL.
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STUDIES CONFIRM THAT THE SEA FLOOR IS ACTUALLY DEEPENING IN THE PORT FOURCHON VICINITY.
The "Environomic" concept offers Louisiana this opportunity. The LEERC plan identifies a corridor that would allow all of these initiatives to play off of each other, and when combined, provide a world-class land, sea and air multi-modal system, as well as comprehensive coastal protection to help sustain southeastern Louisiana. This system also offers greater connectivity to the tremendous inland port system in this state, reducing the overburdened highway system by using waterways, our greatest natural asset. Details of LEERC include implementation of the following projects:
2. Development of a ship-to-barge terminal at Port Fourchon, utilizing existing waterways (Houma Navigation Canal, Bayou Lafourche, Barataria Waterway) for access to the Intracoastal Waterway.
3. From the Intracoastal, one leg of the conveyance channel would be made navigable to the Mississippi River providing a barge connection to the Mississippi River 50 miles shorter than the existing route.
4. Connecting the conveyance-navigation canal, international airport, intermodal hub and the North-South Hurricane Evacuation Corridor in a way that each compliments the other.
$1.5 BILLION
HIGHWAY AND RAIL CONNECTORS
$1.5 BILLION
PORT CONSTRUCTION
$1.5 BILLION
CONVEYANCE CHANNEL
$1.5 BILLION
ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
$1.0 BILLION
INLAND WATERWAY CONNECTORS
$1.0 BILLION
TOTAL COST $8 BILLION
