The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended a permit for the stalled Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project, citing the current uncertainty surrounding the plan and claiming Louisiana officials “deliberately withheld” information during the project’s initial evaluation process.
In a letter sent Friday to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Corps officials said the withheld information and other factors require a reevaluation of the permit for the massive project, a centerpiece of the state’s $50 billion Coastal Master Plan.
The Corps has ordered any ongoing work authorized by the permit to cease within 10 days. The state had already issued a 90-day pause on work related to the project on April 4 to prevent a further escalation in cost as Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration seeks and alternative plan…