Tulane Institute for Water Law and Policy
Finding the Means: Investment and Adaptation in Vulnerable Communities
2 years
The Challenge
The study sought to identify the main social tipping point(s) in the implementation and/or funding process for nonstructural residential programs at which it would become so taxing on the community that residents would choose to move elsewhere.
Stakeholders invited to participate in the interviews were from three coastal parishes: Cameron, Terrebonne, or Plaquemines. Participants from Cameron Parish were from the small towns of Cameron, Creole, and Hackberry. Terrebonne Parish participants were largely from the Houma area, and those interviewed in Plaquemines Parish were mostly located in the Buras-Triumph area.
The Approach
The three parishes are spread along the Louisiana coast – one along the Mississippi River in the southeastern area of the state, one closer to the central coast, and one in the chenier region of southwest Louisiana. Both Cameron and Plaquemines parishes provide the insights of smaller, rural towns, while the more populous Houma region in Terrebonne Parish represents a mix of both urban and rural living. This variation in population between research sites allows for the exploration of different-sized tax bases.
Houma’s larger tax base has already allowed Terrebonne Parish to produce funds for the Morganza to the Gulf levee project, while Cameron Parish’s small tax base has the parish struggling to pay for basic costs like the wages of its firefighters, let alone the significant burden of funding nonstructural programs. All three parishes are heavily influenced by Louisiana’s oil and gas industry, which can benefit parish residents through employment, but may not provide a direct contribution to the community’s economy due to property tax exemptions at the state level. In 2005, Hurricane Rita devastated Cameron Parish, and Hurricane Katrina dealt a tremendous blow to communities in Terrebonne and Plaquemines Parishes. The destruction these hurricanes caused – not just to these three parishes, but to multiple parishes near or on the Gulf coast – greatly altered tax bases and local communities through population migration.
Qualitative data analysis of the interview data was used to assess the social impact of nonstructural mitigation measures and potential funding streams used to finance these. The study identified the main social tipping point(s) in the implementation and/or funding process for nonstructural residential programs at which it would become so taxing on the community that residents would choose to move elsewhere. This study explored what consequences, if any, paying for or implementing the nonstructural program would have on residents’ decision to stay or leave their community. The nonstructural projects of interest for this research primarily included the elevation and voluntary acquisition (i.e., “buyout”) of homes in vulnerable areas. The findings suggest that it would be incredibly difficult for parishes to self-generate funds for nonstructural protection. Even if a fee or tax were to pass with popular support, it appears unlikely that it would be able to generate sufficient funds for decades. Potentially, alternative methods such as loan programs could help coastal residents and communities acclimate to higher flood risks.
KEY TEAM MEMBERS
