Louisiana’s vulnerability to hurricanes has caused it to be labeled as a “drain” on American monetary resources in recent years. The vast amounts of money spent on evacuation, hurricane and flooding protection, property replacement, search and rescue, recovery and relief, as well as emergency efforts have raised questions about the cost efficiency of the state as a whole. Some fringe theories that have been proposed have included speculation about the effects of the United States government expropriating all or parts of Louisiana that are deemed “cost negative”. The idea would be to condemn these areas for residential purposes and thereby reduce costs to government programs and organizations that give aid to areas in Louisiana affected by hurricanes. These ideas are not without supporting evidence of its apparent monetary value:
1. The damages due to Hurricane Katrina alone totaled more than US $81.2 million.
2. Government aid costs due to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav have been estimated to be in excess of US $128 and US $384 million respectively.
3. Conservative estimates of total economic impact to Louisiana fort Hurricanes Ike and Katrina have been listed between US $8 billion and US $20 billion.
4. Since 1900, the United States has experienced approximately US $10 billion per year to help coastal states prepare for and recover from hurricane damages (in normalized 2005 dollars according to: http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/resource-2476-2008.02.pdf
5. The I-10 highway is a key point of reference for insurance companies when assessing policies for flood coverage. Approximately 1.9 people live south of this highway. Mandating that these people relocate seems to be a quick and easy way to avoid the difficult clean –up operations after devastating storms. The negative economic impact that would be avoided in this manner would supposedly benefit the American people as a whole, which would allow the government to carry out this plan via eminent domain policy established by the case of The Charles River Bridge vs. The Warren Bridge et al.
All of these arguments are legitimate and would seem to indicate a contribution to the common interest of the American public by “ridding” the country of the liability that is coastal Louisiana. However, these observations are taken out of the context of Louisiana’s great economic contributions to the American economy, most of which are in the oil and gas sector that is so critical to the state of the American economy. Just a few of these contributions are as follows:
1. 1/3 of federal energy is transported through Louisiana.
2. 13% of the oil imported into the U.S is brought through Louisiana.
3. Louisiana is the 4th largest producer of oil in the United States with more than 228,000 barrels per day.
4. Louisiana is the nation’s 5th largest producer of natural gas.
5. Louisiana’s oil and natural gas industry provides more than 57,000 jobs in the American work force, which brings Louisiana’s oil and natural gas industry’s economic impact to more than US $93 billion annually.
6. 30% of oil imported into the U.S. comes through ports and pipes in Louisiana.
7. The Port of New Orleans alone has an economic impact of more than US $8 billion annually; when the port was closed for less than 2 weeks during Hurricane Katrina, the cost to the country was more than US $275 million.
8. The Port of Fourchon in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana was estimated to have brought more than US $9 billion in negative economic impact while closed for just three weeks during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
These important economic details and idiosyncrasies contribute to the unique nature of Louisiana’s situation as it pertains to economic impact, natural resources, contribution to the general interest of the American people, and its position of vulnerability to acts of eminent domain. Although the citizens and businesses of Louisiana may incur many damages due to hurricanes and storms, the costs are vastly outweighed by the positive economic impact of the area due to natural resources. These circumstances clearly place coastal Louisiana in a category of special consideration as established by the case of Clark vs. Nash in cases pertaining to eminent domain and its use in pursuing the best interest of the general public. The unique nature of Louisiana’s economic situation and its influence on the national economy via its natural gas and oil industries require a broad view of circumstances to determine the true best interest of the American public.
