NEW ORLEANS, July 7 (UPI) -- The Bush administration will support $1.9 billion in federal and state spending in the next decade for restoration of Louisiana's eroding coastline.
Rep. David Vitter, R-La., and White House environmental adviser Jim Connaughton said most of funds would be "fast tracked" so work could begin in 2006, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Wednesday.
The Bush administration sees it as an alternative to the long-range $14 billion, 30-year plan prepared by Army Corps of Engineers and scientists last year, the Times-Picayune said. The White House sidetracked that plan for the less expensive start-up initiative unveiled Tuesday.
Sidney Coffee, coastal adviser to Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said the test of the Bush commitment will come when Congress has to actually fund the request for coastal funding.
Louisiana officials say the nation has a responsibility to help restore the coast because the wetlands are crucial to the nation's fisheries and oil and gas production.
