New coastal restoration plan advances $74M for restoration projects

Federal agencies have released the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #8: a plan to restore wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats to address injuries caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The assessment selects four projects for implementation, estimated to cost $75 million. It comes from a group within the Deepwater Horizon Trustees, which includes federal agencies like the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and more.

Earlier this year, over 160 representatives of business, government, environmental, community and other groups in Louisiana signed on to a letter in support of this plan.

In response, Restore the Mississippi River Delta — a coalition of national and local conservation groups working together to address Louisiana’s land loss crisis comprised of Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, Pontchartrain Conservancy and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana — released the following statement:

“This Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #8: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats represents a significant step forward in habitat restoration and coastal protection in Louisiana. This plan helps advance key projects in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet ecosystem including the New Orleans East Landbridge and the Bayou La Loutre Ridge Restoration projects, both of which have garnered support from tens of thousands of people since Hurricane Katrina.

We are grateful to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group for their continued engagement with coastal stakeholders. These four projects will restore critically important areas for both ecosystem health and community protection.”

Projects advancing or engineering and design:

New Orleans East Landbridge Restoration Project (approximate cost: $4 million)

Raccoon Island Barrier Island Restoration Project (approximate cost: $8.2 million)

Projects advancing for construction:

Bayou Dularge Ridge and Marsh Creation (approximate cost: $41.4 million)

La Loutre Ridge Restoration and Marsh Creation (approximate cost: $21.2 million)