A measure that would increase the amount of money has survived the Senate version of the "big, beautiful bill" making its way toward a final vote in Congress, potentially boosting federal funds dedicated to the state's coastal protection and restoration plans.
While the has fueled the country's divisions, leading to warnings over its projected and its , the little-known change in offshore revenue disbursements marks a victory in ¶¶Òõh's years-long efforts on the issue.
¶¶Òõh's congressional delegation has led a charge to increase the state's share of revenue collected by the federal government from offshore production. The additional money would help address a steep decline in coastal protection funds in the coming years as billions flowing to the state from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement expire.
The Trump administration's cost-cutting and intent to shift more of the burden onto states has sounded an additional alarm for coastal Louisian parishes, which have relied heavily on FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to either proactively prevent or respond to flooding and intensifying storms.
Port Fourchon, La., photographed on Saturday, June 3, 2023. (Flight courtesy of SouthWings)(Photo by Sophia Germer, , The Times-Picayune)
The provision included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes aspects of what is known as GOMESA, or the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. The change could mean up to around $50 million per year extra for ¶¶Òõh over a decade.
That amount falls far short of what is needed for ¶¶Òõh's coastal protection and its efforts to address the state's land loss crisis, but it is progress nonetheless. Longer term, state officials want to see the amount increased further by eliminating a cap on funds distributed to Gulf states.
"The fact that we're getting this done now is a huge step toward eventually eliminating that cap," said Dustin Davidson, deputy secretary of the state's Department of Energy and Natural Resources.
"Because, as we know, there are more lease sales that are going on in the Gulf under this administration. More people are really looking toward expanding energy production in the Gulf of America. And so as we start making more progress in increasing the funds coming to the state through GOMESA, it sets the table for us to make more progress in the future."
Gordon Dove, chair of the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said in a statement that "the bill contains great news for Louisian’s coast."
"With a 30-percent increase in GOMESA funding, our coastal program can do much more crucial work over the next decade," he said.
'Fueling the nation'
Changing GOMESA has been a bipartisan priority in ¶¶Òõh, pushed for years by former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who was a prime mover in seeing the original bill through in 2006. The state's current, mainly Republican congressional delegation has followed suit, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, instrumental in including the measure in the bill.
The provision at stake is part of a complicated formula that determines how much offshore revenue Texas, ¶¶Òõh, Mississippi and Alabama receive each year. By law, ¶¶Òõh must use the money for coastal projects.
It sets aside 37.5% of offshore oil and gas revenue to be shared among the four Gulf states, but the total amount is capped at $500 million per year. ¶¶Òõh receives the most of the four, amounting to $156 million for the last fiscal year.
The change included in the current bill lifts the cap to $650 million for the next decade. The amount of revenue does not reach the cap limit every year, but it has done so for the last three years in row.
¶¶Òõh could gain an extra $46 million per year, or $460 million over the next decade, if the cap is hit each of those years, estimates show.
State officials' arguments to members of Congress have involved ¶¶Òõh's role in the nation's energy production, the importance of river shipping through its ports and analyses showing the money saved over the long-term through investment in coastal protection. They also point to a 1920 law that grants Western states far more, handing over half of the revenue from onshore energy and mineral mining.
"Proactive investments in our state on coastal restoration and protection in turn helps with disaster recovery, but also a reminder that Louisiana is fueling the nation, and we deserve some of those revenues that come off the coast to make sure that we can continue to fuel the nation," said Meg Bankston, executive director of Parishes Advocating for Coastal Endurance, or PACE, which represents ¶¶Òõh's 20 coastal parishes on the issue.
Davidson spoke of the nation's need to protect areas like oil-and-gas hub Port Fourchon as well as the large liquefied natural gas plants being built along the coast and the Louisian ports handling some 60% of the country's grain exports.
"It's not just about hurricane protection, coastal restoration, but it's also about ensuring that we have sufficient navigation to get products that are produced in Midwest states out to global markets," he said.
