Abstract
Abstract It is generally felt in the water resources community that the most significant twenty-first century public works projects will be those undertaken to correct environmental damage caused by twentieth century projects. A second axiom is that the switch from economic development to restoration and mitigation, what we call redemption, often will be precipitated by disaster. Finally, it must be expected that the repair project will cost far more than the initial public investment but also may have economic revitalization potential far exceeding anticipated environmental benefits. We examine this cycle for the federally funded Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) navigation project east of New Orleans, beginning with its much heralded birth in 1963 as a 122 km long free-flowing tidal canal connecting New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico and ending with its recent de-authorization and closure. We track the direct and indirect effects of the project through its commercial failure, and then on to the offici...
Published Version
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