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On this episode of The Capitol Beach, Derek Brockbank interviews Representative Garret Graves. Rep. Graves has a long history working for coastal restoration and resilience, most notably in leading Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and currently as Congressman. On the podcast, he talks about new laws that allow FEMA money to be spent on Army Corps projects, why investing in resilience should be done before a storm, and how the Army Corps of Engineers is improving and where he’d like to see the Corps go. He also shares why he wanted Cajuns listed as an endangered species and how the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State is like the Coastal Louisiana wetlands.
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Guest
Congressman Garret Graves represents Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Rep. Graves was Chair of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, where he oversaw response to the BP oil spill and led the development of the state’s 50-year $50 billion coastal master plan. As Congressman, he has served as Chair of the Water Resources and the Environment subcommittee for Transportation & Infrastructure, and was instrumental in the development, passage and enactment of a range of policy wins on rivers, levees, flood protection, coastal issues and Corps of Engineers reforms. He is currently the Ranking Member on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
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Podcast Host
ASBPA Executive Director, Derek Brockbank, hosts this semi-regular podcast. Prior to starting with ASBPA, Derek worked as campaign director for a coalition effort to restore the Mississippi River Delta and Coastal Louisiana, and was part of a gulf-wide campaign to pass the RESTORE Act, securing billions of dollars for Gulf Coast restoration. This followed up on his work with National Wildlife Federation on climate adaption. Derek started his career as a grassroots organizer. Derek grew up in New York City and got his coastal education from an early age playing on the beaches of Long Island, and kayaking and fishing in Peconic Bay.