About Erich Rapp
Erich P Rapp is the publisher of Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Blog. He is responsible for the content on this blog. Erich grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and now own homes in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He is an attorney and partner with the Kean Miller law firm. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 1984 with a B.A. in Political Science, and then graduated from the Louisiana State University Law School in 1987 with a J.D. He has practiced law with Kean Miller in Baton Rouge since he graduated from law school. He belongs to the American, Louisiana, Texas, and Baton Rouge Bar Associations. He is licensed to practice before all state courts in Louisiana and Texas as well as all federal district courts in Louisiana. He is also a member of the bar of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He has primarily practiced law in the areas of toxic tort (chemical exposure claims) and environmental litigation including claims against the federal government.
Beginning in 2003, he became interested in water law issues and wetlands law issues. The events which led to this blog began in the fall of 2003 when one of his partners asked whether the federal government might be legally responsible for the loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana. What he knew was a complex question was far more so than he ever imagined. The original question and many others have consumed much of Erich’s free time since.
The question led to a multi-year research project that extended beyond the original client’s case. The research has taken him on trips spanning the Mississippi River drainage basin from Northern Montana to Southwestern New York. It has led to many research trips to the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, numerous regional offices of the National Archives, several federal record centers, countless university special collections, and several Army Corps of Engineers offices.
The events leading to the loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana span more than the history of the country and cover the entire Mississippi River drainage basin expanding through all or part of 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces amounting to 41% of the lower continental United States comprising 1,245,000 square miles. The legal questions concern the present and past law of the 31 states in the river basin and the present and past law of the federal government. Even the history of the law imported to the United States from Europe comes into play.
The causes of coastal wetland loss in Louisiana and the law which relates to these losses may be the most complex and far ranging issues ever considered in a legal context. Over the life of this blog, these issues will be discussed and your input will be invited.