#CPRAED

[sophiasoni]

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[notbecauseofvictories]

Like a True Hero, I am going to book club even though I had a very long day of work and want to curl up in bed with a bag of chips and some tv instead.

[deadnightguard]

speedpaint here https://youtu.be/NNz5eVVMjVc :3c

[bywandandsword]

It's really so frustrating that, as an environmental social scientist, when asked to do a policy assessment or are asked for my advice on how to improve a project, 99.9% of the time my response is

Have you asked the local community what they think about it?

Are you making Big Oil take responsibility/pay their bills?

Every. Freaking. Time.

[jcmarchi]

Paola Zeni, Chief Privacy Officer at RingCentral – Interview Series

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/paola-zeni-chief-privacy-officer-at-ringcentral-interview-series/

Paola Zeni, Chief Privacy Officer at RingCentral – Interview Series

Paola Zeni is the Chief Privacy Officer at RingCentral. She is an international privacy attorney with more than 20 years of privacy experience and a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked at Symantec and at Palo Alto Networks, where she built the privacy program from the ground up.

What inspired you to pursue a career in data privacy?

In the late 1990s, when EU Member States were implementing the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive of , data privacy started to emerge in Europe as an important issue.  As a technology attorney working with technology companies such as HP and Agilent Technologies, I considered this a relevant topic and started paying close attention and growing my understanding of privacy requirements. I quickly knew that this was an area I wanted to be involved in, not only because I found it legally interesting and challenging, but also because it’s an issue that touches many teams and many processes across the entire organization. Being involved in data privacy means working with different groups and individuals and learning about multiple aspects of the business. Being able to influence and drive change on an important issue across many functions in the organization, while following a burgeoning legal area, has been extremely rewarding. Working in data privacy today is more exciting than ever, considering the technological developments and the increased legal complexities at global level.

When you first joined RingCentral, you created a Trust Center, what is this specifically?

At RingCentral we believe that providing our customers and partners with information about the privacy and the security of their data is essential to build and maintain trust in our services. For this reason we continue to create collateral and resources, such as product privacy datasheets for our core offerings, whitepapers, and compliance guides, and make them available to customers and partners on our public facing Trust Center. Most recently we added our AI Transparency Whitepaper.  The Trust Center is a critical component of our commitment to transparency with key stakeholders.

How does RingCentral ensure that privacy principles are integrated into all AI-driven products and services?

Artificial intelligence can empower businesses to unlock new potential and quickly extract meaningful information and insights from their data – but with those benefits, comes responsibility.  At RingCentral, we remain relentlessly focused on protecting customers and their data. We accomplish this through the privacy pillars that guide our product development practices

Privacy by Design: We leverage our privacy by design approach by working closely with product counsel, product managers, and product engineers to embed privacy principles and privacy requirements across the aspects of our products and services that implement AI. Privacy assessments are integrated in the product development lifecycle, from ideation to deployment and we build on that to conduct AI reviews and guidance.

Transparency: We offer collateral and resources to customers, partners, and users about how their data is collected and used, as part of our commitment to transparency and building trust in our services.

Customer control: We provide options that empower customers to maintain control in deciding how they want our AI to interact with their data.

Can you provide examples of specific privacy measures embedded within RingCentral’s AI-first communication solutions?

First of all, we have added to our product documentation information detailing how we collect and process data: who stores it, what third parties have access to it, etc. in our privacy data sheets, which are posted on our Trust Center. We specifically call out which data serves as input for AI and which data is generated as output from AI. Also, as part of our product reviews in collaboration with product counsel, we implement disclosures to meet our commitment to transparency, and we provide our customers’ administrators with options to control sharing of data with AI.

Why is it crucial for organizations to maintain complete transparency about data collection and usage in the age of AI?

To foster adoption of trustworthy AI, it’s imperative for organizations to establish trust in how AI processes data and in the accuracy of the output. This extends to the data AI is trained on, the logic applied by the algorithm, and the nature of the output.

We believe that when providers are transparent and share information about their AI, how it works, and what it’s used for, customers can make informed decisions and are empowered to provide more specific disclosures to their users, thus improving adoption of AI and trust.  When developing and providing AI we think of all stakeholders: our customers , but also their employees, partners, and customers.

What steps can organizations take to ensure that their vendors adhere to stringent AI usage policies?

At RingCentral, we believe deploying AI requires trust between us and our vendors. Vendors must commit to embed privacy and data security into the architecture of their products. For this reason we have built on our existing vendor due diligence process by adding a specific AI review, and we have implemented a standard for the use of third party AI, with specific requirements for the protection of RingCentral and our customers.

What strategies does RingCentral employ to ensure the data fed into AI systems is accurate and unbiased?

With fairness as a guiding principle, we are constantly considering the impact of our AI, and remain committed to maintaining an awareness of potential biases and risks, with mechanisms in place to identify and mitigate any unintended consequences.

We have adopted a specific framework for the identification and prevention of biases as part of our Ethical AI Development Framework, which we apply to all our product reviews.

Our use cases for AI involve a human-in-the-loop to evaluate the outputs of our AI systems. For example, in our Smart Notes, even without monitoring the content of the notes produced, we can infer from users’ actions whether the notes were accurate or not. If a user edits the notes constantly, it sends a signal to RingCentral to tweak the prompts.

As another example of human-in-the-loop, our retrieval augmented generation process allows the output to be strictly focused on specific knowledge databases and provides references for the sources for the outputs generated. This allows the human to verify the response and to dig deeper into the references themselves.

By ensuring our AI is accurate, we stand by our promise to provide explainable and transparent AI.

What privacy challenges arise with AI in large-scale enterprise deployments, and how are they addressed?

First of all it is important to remember that existing privacy laws contain provisions that are applicable to artificial intelligence. When laws are technology-neutral, legal frameworks and ethical guideposts apply to new technologies.. Therefore, organizations need to ensure their use of AI complies with existing privacy laws, such as GDPR and CPRA.

Second, the responsibility of privacy professionals is to monitor nascent and emerging AI laws, which vary from state to state and country to country. AI laws address numerous aspects of AI, but one of the top priorities for new AI regulation is the protection of fundamental human rights, including privacy.

The critical success factors in addressing privacy issues are transparency towards users, especially where AI performs profiling or makes automated decisions impacting individuals and enabling choices, so users can opt out from AI usage they do not feel comfortable about.

What future trends do you see in AI and data privacy, and how is RingCentral preparing to stay ahead?

The major trends are new laws that will continue to come into force, users increasing demands for transparency and control, the ever-growing need to manage AI-related risk, including third party risks, and the rise of cyber risks in AI.

Companies need to put in place robust governance and teams must collaborate across functions in order to ensure internal alignment, minimize risks, and grow users’ trust. At RingCentral, our ongoing commitment to privacy, security and transparency remains unmatched. We take these things seriously. Through our AI governance and our AI privacy pillars, RingCentral is committed to ethical AI.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit RingCentral.

[dont-open-dead-inside-25]

trying to request the data from my reddit profile so i can delete it. does anyone know which option to select? i am unfamiliar with these and don't currently have the time to research them

[we-re-always-alright]

I’m off work today but I’m thinking about it anyway and I’m thinking, you know, what cottage lawsuit industry is going to pop up next (if it hasn’t already) and my guess would be on CCPA/CPRA etc violations for small businesses

[mrhairybrit]

Understanding CPRA: A Guide for Beginners

The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) is a data privacy law that was passed in California in November 2020 as an extension and expansion of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CPRA introduces new privacy rights for consumers and additional obligations for businesses. The law is expected to go into effect on January 1, 2023. Why Do We Need CPRA? The CPRA came about to address some…

[pauldughi]

92% of Companies Still Not Compliant with CCPA that Ramps Up January 1st

92% of Companies Still Not Compliant with CCPA that Ramps Up January 1st

According to aa study of nearly 10,000 companies, data privacy security company CYTRIO reports the marjority of companies have still not taken proactive measures to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CCPA and the enhanced CPRA becomes fully enforceable on January 1, 2023 and includes employees’ rights to their personal data. “Companies should be aware of numerous changes…

[rizasizbahcaningulu]

5 gündür evde suyumuz kesik her gün özellikle akşamları elektrikler kesiliyo dağda yaşamıyoruz hatayın belen ilçesinde merkezdeyiz. hastanede klima çalışmıyo. sürekli elektrik kesiliyo 1 dk bekliyoruz karanlıkta jeneratör devreye giriyo. dün arrest bi hasta geldi 50 derece sıcaklıkta cpr yaptık 1 saat belki döner diye. her cpra geçenin alnından terler damlıyodu hastanın üstüne. allah devletimizden razı olsun olmasa napardık aç susuz kalırdık değil mi :))):))

[the-eternal-quest-for-balance]

Coast in Crisis: CPRA chief wants to 'rock the coast' from Mississippi t...

[plethoraworldatlas]

Ironically, had I been invited, I wouldn’t have been driven to write this report. Private PR companies seeking to control access to information and public debate on behalf of the government about projects as consequential as the MBSD is dangerous — and is part of a larger concerning trend.

A growing number of these PR and consultancy companies work for clients seeking permits as well as the agencies responsible for issuing them, offering a one-stop-shop for expediting permits, with a team of communication specialists, consultants, engineers, and lobbyists at the ready. Two scoping hearings I attending this year held by the U.S. Coast Guard for floating LNG projects off Grande Isle, Louisiana, were moderated by third-party contractors who offer permit expediting services for industry. 

Despite the region’s shrinking wetlands, the government continues to permit new LNG export facilities on the Gulf Coast, and is encouraging hydrogen and carbon capture sequestration developments, though they too will lead to further land loss. Such developments require new pipelines, and constructing pipelines in the wetlands is one of the main drivers of the state’s land-loss crisis. 

Thirty miles south of New Orleans is where the MBSD construction will take place. A break will be made on the West Bank of the Mississippi River levee in Plaquemines Parish to allow for controlled releases of the river’s freshwater, laden with sediment and nutrients, through a two-mile-long concrete channel with a gate system re-connecting the river’s flow to the Barataria Basin.

The project’s supporters assert diverting the river to its historic path and unleashing the power of nature will result in the creation of 21 square miles of new submerged land in the basin’s wetlands over the next 50 years. This new land will create a natural barrier that will help protect the New Orleans metro area from storm surge, project proponents say. But scientist point out that the modern Mississippi River isn’t the same as it was 100 years ago — its land-building sediment load has been degraded due to the manmade water controls, and nutrient concentrations in the water are much higher. The project’s planners acknowledge that when the polluted river water is introduced into the basin’s brackish saltwater environment, increased initial land loss will occur as fresh water kills some of the marsh grass that holds the land together; however, a study determined that the land loss could be more substantial than the modelling for the project reflects.

The diversion project lies at the intersection of two crises: the state’s alarming coastal land-loss rate and the essential threat of climate change. This makes it ripe for disaster capitalism, a phrase Naomi Klein coined in her book “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.” Following a destabilizing event, funding is made available with little debate for projects the public is told that will fix or mitigate issues that actually advance corporate interests.

...

In an op-ed about disaster capitalism, Klein pointed out that some of the same companies that profited off the Iraq war — Bechtel, Fluor, Halliburton, CH2M Hill, and Parsons — also profited in New Orleans after Katrina. CH2M Hill, now owned by Jacobs, is playing a role in the diversion project, as one of the many firms contracted by the CPRA. Those same companies, some of which have new names after being acquired, are all now also positioned play a role in the hydrogen and CCS market — an unsubstantiated climate solution that is being heavily unwritten with public funds. With billions on the table to combat the state’s land-loss crisis from restoration settlements funds from the BP oil spill, and billions more from the federal government to combat climate change, the disaster capitalist vultures are circling. Attending the groundbreaking offered me a peek at those utilizing a revolving door between public and private sector jobs allowing them access to the loot. Among the couple hundred attendees were government officials and an army of consultants, lobbyists, and PR specialist who service the oil and gas industry, at the ready to claim a piece of the pie.

...

The Environmental Impact Study prepared on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by GEC, a firm that offers engineering and consulting services, states that while there would be a positive impact of decreasing storm-related surge for communities in the greater New Orleans area, it would create increased flooding for communities directly south of the project in lower Plaquemines Parish that are home to minority populations. The report also concluded that the project will create economic hardship for those in the fishing industry who rely on the Barataria Basin, one of the country’s most productive estuaries. This is because the polluted fresh water entering the salt water environment will kill off most of the brown shrimp and oysters, as well as most of the Bottlenose dolphin that live there.

[1sharmalaw]

Protect Customer Personal Information: A Guide for Businesses

Here is an in-depth report on fundamental steps for businesses to protect customer personal information, focusing on requirements and best practices in New York, California, Massachusetts, and the US Virgin Islands: I. Determining if Your Business is Required to Protect Customer Personal Information Before implementing cybersecurity measures, it's crucial to understand if your business is legally obligated to protect customer personal information (PI). Requirements vary by state and territory: New York Under the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act): - Applies to any person or business that owns or licenses computerized data including private information of a New York resident - No minimum threshold for number of customers or revenue California The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) apply to businesses that: - Have annual gross revenue exceeding $25 million - Buy, sell, or share personal information of 100,000 or more California residents or households - Derive 50% or more of annual revenue from selling or sharing California residents' personal information Massachusetts Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00 applies to all persons that own or license personal information about a Massachusetts resident. US Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands Data Breach Notification Law applies to: - Persons and businesses that conduct business in the territory - Own, license, or maintain covered information of Virgin Islands residents II. Understanding What Constitutes Personal Information Before one can protect customer personal information, one must understand the definition of personal information varies slightly by jurisdiction: New York Private information includes: - Social Security number - Driver's license number or non-driver ID number - Account, credit or debit card number (if usable to access an individual's financial account) - Biometric information - Username/email address in combination with a password or security question answer California Personal information includes: - Identifiers (e.g., name, address, SSN, driver's license number) - Characteristics of protected classifications (e.g., race, gender) - Commercial information - Biometric information - Internet or network activity information - Geolocation data - Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information - Professional or employment-related information - Education information - Inferences drawn from other personal information Massachusetts Personal information includes: - First name and last name or first initial and last name - In combination with any of: - Social Security number - Driver's license number or state-issued ID number - Financial account number, or credit or debit card number US Virgin Islands Covered information includes: - First name or first initial and last name - In combination with any of: - Social Security number - Driver's license number - Account number, credit or debit card number (with any required security code, access code, or password) III. Step-by-Step Guide to Protect Customer Personal Information Step 1: Conduct a Data Inventory and Risk Assessment - Identify all personal information your business collects, processes, and stores. - Determine where this data is located (e.g., on-premises servers, cloud storage, employee devices). - Assess potential risks and vulnerabilities to this data. Step 2: Develop and Implement a Written Information Security Program (WISP) - Create a comprehensive policy document outlining your data protection measures. - Include procedures for: - Collecting, storing, and using personal information - Employee training on data security - Incident response in case of a breach - Regular security audits and updates Step 3: Implement Strong Access Controls - Use role-based access control to limit data access to employees who need it. - Implement strong password policies, including: - Complex passwords with a mix of characters - Regular password changes - Two-factor authentication (2FA) Step 4: Encrypt Sensitive Data - Use industry-standard encryption for data at rest and in transit. - Implement 256-bit encryption for emails containing sensitive information. - Use file-level encryption for data stored on computer hard drives. Step 5: Secure Your Network - Install and maintain firewalls to protect against unauthorized access. - Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for remote access to company systems. - Regularly update all software, including operating systems and applications, to patch security vulnerabilities. Step 6: Train Employees on Data Security - Conduct regular cybersecurity awareness training for all employees. - Cover topics such as: - Recognizing phishing attempts - Safe browsing practices - Proper handling of sensitive data - Reporting potential security incidents Step 7: Implement Data Minimization Practices - Only collect personal information that is necessary for your business operations. - Regularly review and delete unnecessary data. - Implement data retention policies that comply with legal requirements. Step 8: Secure Physical Access to Data - Implement physical security measures to protect servers and devices containing personal information. - Use locked cabinets for paper documents containing sensitive data. - Implement a clean desk policy to ensure sensitive information is not left unattended. Step 9: Manage Third-Party Risks - Conduct due diligence on vendors who have access to your customer data. - Include data protection clauses in contracts with third-party service providers. - Regularly audit third-party compliance with your data security requirements. Step 10: Develop and Test an Incident Response Plan - Create a detailed plan for responding to potential data breaches. - Include steps for: - Containing the breach - Assessing its scope and impact - Notifying affected individuals and relevant authorities - Conducting a post-incident review - Regularly test and update your incident response plan. IV. Compliance with Specific State Requirements While following the steps above will provide a strong foundation for data protection, be aware of these specific state requirements: New York (SHIELD Act) - Implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards. - Conduct regular risk assessments. - Train employees in security practices and procedures. California (CCPA/CPRA) - Provide notice to consumers about data collection practices. - Implement processes to respond to consumer requests regarding their personal information. - Obtain opt-in consent for processing sensitive personal information. Massachusetts (201 CMR 17.00) - Designate one or more employees to maintain the information security program. - Identify and assess reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks to security. - Develop security policies for employees relating to the storage, access, and transportation of records containing personal information. US Virgin Islands - While specific cybersecurity requirements are not currently detailed in the breach notification law, following best practices outlined in this guide will help ensure compliance. By following these steps and staying informed about evolving regulations, businesses can significantly enhance their protection of customer personal information and reduce the risk of data breaches and regulatory non-compliance. Read the full article

[conselium]

The Evolving Role of Compliance Officers in Data Privacy

In contemporary digital landscape, wherein statistics breaches and privacy issues dominate headlines, the function of compliance officers has advanced appreciably. As guardians of regulatory adherence and moral standards inside companies, compliance officers now find themselves at the forefront of making sure records privacy. With the increasing complexity of guidelines like GDPR, CCPA, and emerging laws international, their responsibilities have improved beyond conventional compliance measures. Let's delve into the pivotal aspects of this evolving function and the way compliance officials can navigate the elaborate terrain of information privacy efficaciously.

Understanding Regulatory Frameworks: Compliance officers must own a comprehensive expertise of evolving statistics privateness regulations globally. This consists of not simplest the well-hooked up mandates like GDPR and HIPAA however also staying abreast of rising laws which include Brazil's LGPD or California's CPRA. By maintaining a finger on the pulse of regulatory adjustments, compliance officers can proactively adapt rules and tactics to ensure ongoing compliance.

Integration of Technology: The development of generation has revolutionized facts dealing with practices, providing both possibilities and demanding situations for compliance officials. Leveraging innovative answers consisting of AI-pushed compliance monitoring equipment or blockchain for information integrity verification can beautify the efficiency and effectiveness of compliance measures. Compliance officers need to embody those technology even as additionally ensuring they align with regulatory requirements and moral requirements.

Risk Assessment and Mitigation: Conducting thorough danger assessments is paramount in safeguarding touchy statistics. Compliance officers ought to collaborate with IT and cybersecurity groups to pick out capacity vulnerabilities in information coping with approaches and enforce sturdy mitigation techniques. This may additionally involve encryption protocols, access controls, and everyday safety audits to preemptively cope with any lapses in facts privacy.

Educating Stakeholders: Data privacy is not solely the duty of compliance officers but a collective attempt across the corporation. Effective communique and education projects are vital for fostering a subculture of compliance from pinnacle executives to frontline personnel. Compliance officers ought to provide everyday updates on regulatory changes, conduct training sessions, and increase informative resources to empower stakeholders with the knowledge and equipment to uphold information privateness requirements.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaboration across departments is integral for making sure holistic compliance with information privacy guidelines. Compliance officials should collaborate carefully with criminal suggest, IT safety teams, human resources, and advertising departments to develop complete records privacy strategies. By breaking down silos and fostering interdisciplinary cooperation, organizations can address compliance demanding situations greater correctly.

Auditing and Monitoring: Regular auditing and tracking are critical components of a robust data privateness compliance application. Compliance officers ought to establish stringent audit protocols to assess compliance with inner policies in addition to regulatory necessities. Automated monitoring systems can flag anomalies or potential breaches in actual-time, enabling swift remediation movements to mitigate dangers successfully.

Ethical Data Practices: Beyond regulatory mandates, compliance officials play a important function in upholding ethical data practices inside organizations. This involves making sure transparency in information collection and usage, acquiring express consent from people, and respecting their rights over their personal facts. By championing moral statistics practices, compliance officials can foster believe and credibility with stakeholders while mitigating reputational risks related to facts misuse.

Adaptability and Agility: The panorama of facts privateness is continuously evolving, necessitating adaptability and agility from compliance officials. Rapid technological improvements, shifting patron expectations, and regulatory updates require a proactive method to compliance control. Compliance officials must live vigilant, count on capability challenges, and pivot techniques as a result to navigate the dynamic landscape of information privacy efficiently.

Continuous Learning and Development: To excel of their role, compliance officials must commit to continuous gaining knowledge of and expert development. This includes staying up to date on enterprise quality practices, attending applicable meetings and seminars, and pursuing certifications in information privacy and compliance control. By investing in their expert increase, compliance officials can decorate their expertise and make contributions extra efficaciously to organizational compliance efforts.

Measuring Effectiveness: Lastly, compliance officers have to set up key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of their statistics privacy compliance projects. Metrics along with compliance audit outcomes, incident reaction instances, and stakeholder pleasure surveys can offer valuable insights into the efficacy of compliance packages. By regularly evaluating performance towards mounted KPIs, compliance officers can pick out areas for development and drive non-stop enhancement of statistics privacy practices.

In conclusion, the role of compliance officials in making sure facts are privateness has evolved right into a multifaceted and dynamic undertaking. By staying knowledgeable approximately regulatory tendencies, leveraging technology responsibly, fostering collaboration, and upholding moral standards, compliance officials can navigate the complexities of facts and privacy with self-assurance and effectiveness. Embracing adaptability, non-stop getting to know, and a proactive method is prime to fulfilling this evolving role and safeguarding sensitive information in an increasingly more digital international.

Original Link: https://compliance-hiring.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-evolving-role-of-compliance.html

[mid-barataria-sediment-diversion]

You don’t have to be from Louisiana to have heard about the land-loss problem that plagues the state. Before I even moved here I had heard the same “New Orleans will be underwater” by different people. The allocation of land and the preservation of the coast is a top priority of the state government. This has been a problem that government officials have been aware of for decades (link). The land loss crisis has been further exacerbated by large-scale devastating events, such as hurricanes and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also known as the BP oil spill. After the oil spill, the heads of the state announced a plan to divert water and sediment from the Mississippi River to a coastal wetland in the southern part of the state, called the Barataria Basin.

This project has been publicly supported by both state and federal agencies and politicians. These include, but are not limited to the Louisiana Coastal Protection Authority, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Congressman Garret Graves. A quick google search of the mid-Barataria Diversion project pops up with several results that praise the project as the largest restoration project in the history of, not only the state of Louisiana, but in the entire country. There is such widespread support of the project that to be anti-diversion is considered to be anti-Louisiana. However, like with everything, there are two sides. Before we delve into the controversy, let's take a look at some fundamental information.

The Who, what, when, where, why

The Who The Mid-Barataria Diversion Project is being spearheaded and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers. It has been supported by major Federal and State agencies, including NOAA, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the U.S Dept. of Interior. However, many environmental interest groups, such as Earth Island Institute and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies objected to the project, citing grave detriments to the region, the existing ecosystem, and to the present human settlements.

The What The mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project is a project to divert fresh water and sediment from the Mississippi River through a constructed canal. It is considered the largest and most expensive restoration project in United States history. It is estimated to cost around $3 Billion and estimated to deposit around 20 square miles over 50 years.

The When The Project has been recorded as far back as 1984, when the U.S. Army Corp. conducted a feasibility study in the Basin, to see if a diversion project was possible. The diversion project was included in the first draft of the Coastal Master Plan in 2007. After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, $3B out of the estimated $5B payout to Louisiana was allocated to the diversion project, as the spill had exacerbated the already-occurring land loss issue.

The Where The project broke ground in Plaquemines Parish on Mississippi River mile 60.7, between Ironton and Alliance, Louisiana. The residential community in the area relies on harvesting the aquatic life in the region for the local economy.

The Why The coastline of the Barataria Basin has eroded an estimated 430 miles since the 1930s. In 50 years, if no action is taken ,it is estimated to lose nearly as much again. The intent of the Diversion Project is to deposit sediment from the Mississippi River into the basin to attempt to rebuild and “restore” the marshland.

Now that we have established the core details, we can take a look at where the problem arises. There is an already existing ecosystem in the Mid-Barataria basin. That ecosystem is a “shallow estuary”, meaning that many species of animals depend on these habitats. Dolphins, sea turtles, and bald eagles depend on the Barataria Basin to lay and hatch their eggs and, in the case of the dolphins, have their calves. The salinity of the water is an important factor in this, as the Basin has brackish water and is a saline marsh. The Mississippi river is a freshwater body of water. By introducing fresh water to the Basin, aquatic creatures that rely on a certain salinity level to live would not be able to survive after continued exposure.

Oxygen levels are also a considerable factor. Anyone who has taken a science class knows that water is made up of H2O. Oxygen in water is a fundamental building block of the environment. Hypoxia is a term that recognizes low-levels of oxygen in water, and is a term that has been used to describe the water in the Mississippi river. Hypoxia can cause water to become corrosive and unable to sustain life.

Like with any major scientific concept, it is always best to look at what experts have to say, and from what can be found, there are a lot of moving parts here: Dr. Moby Solangi, the head of the Marine Mammal Institute in Gulfport, MS, has a strong interest in protecting and he made several points regarding the effects of the project on local wildlife. He has spent decades of his life researching and aiming to protect the wildlife present along the gulf states. Dr. Solangi explained that devastating effects on the local wildlife are inevitable, should the Mid-Barataria Project continue. He attested that the most endangered Sea Turtle in the world, Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, comes to the Gulf Coast to lay its eggs. If the low-saline, hypoxic, and polluted water be introduced to their habitat, the population may not recover. Due to his area of research, he had a robust and informed perspective on the effects on the dolphin population. He emphasizes that an estimated 50% of the population would be expected to die within the first year. Much like the proverbial boiling frog, the dolphins will not just leave if their ecosystem changes to an unsupportive habitat. Dolphins are territorial creatures and maintain, what Dr. Solangi called, “site fidelity”. This means they’re very picky when considering where they want to live. Once they do pick a habitat, that becomes their home. By the time the dolphins realize that they’re being poisoned by an unsupportive habitat, they’re already dying of exposure to low-saline, hypoxic, and polluted water.

When it comes to the practicality of the diversion project, Dr. Solangi also had perspective to share. The main reason the diversion project is happening is to restore the land being lost along the Louisiana coastline. The models being used to promote the diversion project are based on old historic connections between the river and the Basin that have not existed in a long time. However, Dr. Solangi pointed out that the river itself is not the same as it once was, with its amount of sediment decreasing by 90% in the last 200 years due to industrialization.The project likely won’t even be depositing the amount of sediment it intends to.

The project has been in-progress for several decades. The diversion project was able to move forward after the waiver of the Marine Mammal Protection Act was granted to the state.The project broke ground in August of 2023 but is currently halted due to a lawsuit filed by Plaquemines Parish. While the project is stalled, and now is the time to propose alternative solutions.When discussing the situation with Mr. Blessey and Dennis Lambert of the Water Resources Commission, the men stated that State legislators could change the situation, but the public has to get involved. They agreed that, “Even judges read newspapers”. Lt. Billy Nungesser, a vocal advocate for alternatives for the project has proposed several ideas, most notably a forested ridge along the coastline to protect against storm surges, and to prevent land loss of the current marsh land. For more information, please visit https://dirtywater.louisianaseafood.com/.