AP reported on May 17 that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and others want to build barrier reefs to protect the coast from the BP oil spill. Sounds like a good idea at this point, now that pumping the well with mud hasn’t worked:

“Gov. Bobby Jindal and leaders from several coastal parishes are pushing a $350 million barrier island repair plan as a way to protect Louisiana’s coast from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and reduce the ultimate cleanup and its costs.

Sand dredged from the gulf’s floor would be built up in 86 miles of the gaps between islands, returning land eaten away by decades of storms and slower erosion.

Jindal said Monday that the project could start within days after the Army Corps of Engineers approves it. He is asking for quick approval, and says he has been told that a decision could come in days.

Jindal says the price tag is much less than it would cost to try to remove oil from marshlands.