Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: Sinking Land and Rising Seas Mean Tough Choices

Plaquemines Parish faces extreme risks from relative sea level rise and land subsidence, which is exacerbated by oil and gas operations and upstream flood control. The region has lost 2,300 square miles of wetlands since 1932, leaving communities vulnerable to storm surges and flooding. Predominantly Black communities, such as Ironton and Woodland, experience a confluence of socioeconomic vulnerability and pollution from refineries and coal terminals. While Louisiana's 2012 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast proposes a $50 billion investment in defenses like the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, critics argue the plan may use inadequate sea level rise projections and fail to protect all communities. Local residents emphasize the need for equitable resource distribution and local employment in restoration projects to ensure communities are made whole.

• Louisiana is experiencing some of the highest relative sea level rise rates globally, driven by land subsidence from oil and gas operations, sediment compaction, and upstream flood-control on the Mississippi River. This has resulted in the loss of 2,300 square miles of wetlands since 1932, with current losses occurring at a rate of 40 square miles per year.
• Predominantly Black communities in Plaquemines Parish, including Ironton, St. Rosalie Plantation, and Woodland, face combined risks from sea level rise and industrial pollution from coal export terminals and oil refineries. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill specifically impacted over 3,000 acres of coastal wetlands in the parish and harmed the local Black fishing community.
• Severe weather events have caused massive displacement in Plaquemines Parish, with coastal towns losing between 40 and 70 percent of their residents following Hurricane Katrina. Despite nearly $20 billion in federal disaster assistance to Louisiana after Katrina and Rita, residents in smaller coastal communities have struggled to access aid and rebuild.
• The state of Louisiana's 2012 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast is a 50-year, $50 billion initiative featuring the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion to replenish the Mississippi delta. However, some scientists argue the plan's sea level rise projections are inadequate and that land loss may outpace the diversion's effectiveness.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2016). Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: Sinking Land and Rising Seas Mean Tough Choices. https://www.ucs.org/resources/plaquemines-parish-louisiana-sinking-land-and-rising-seas-mean-tough-choices-2015

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: Sinking Land and Rising Seas Mean Tough Choices. 2016. https://www.ucs.org/resources/plaquemines-parish-louisiana-sinking-land-and-rising-seas-mean-tough-choices-2015.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: Sinking Land and Rising Seas Mean Tough Choices |date=8 November 2016 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/plaquemines-parish-louisiana-sinking-land-and-rising-seas-mean-tough-choices-2015 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2016plaquemines, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: Sinking Land and Rising Seas Mean Tough Choices}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/plaquemines-parish-louisiana-sinking-land-and-rising-seas-mean-tough-choices-2015}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }