The NewsRoom
Release: #3831
Date: July 28, 2008

Minerals Management Service Awards $1.3 Million Grant to Louisiana for Coastal Restoration

Louisiana Receives Grant for Orleans Land Bridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation Project

NEW ORLEANS — The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $1.3 million grant to the State of Louisiana through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) for the Orleans Land Bridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation project. The project will build approximately 50,000 feet of rock breakwater and restore approximately 220 acres of marsh with dredged material in the Golden Triangle area bounded by the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Intracoastal Waterway and the western shore of Lake Borgne in Orleans Parish. The project was included in Louisiana’s final CIAP plan approved by MMS in November, 2007. This grant is for Phase I of the project, which includes pre-construction engineering and design and identification of landrights.

“It is very encouraging to see the state’s important coastal restoration work continue with support from CIAP grants awarded by MMS,” said MMS Director, Randall Luthi. “We are very much looking forward to working with Louisiana to award the remaining money allocated for the state’s other projects.”

This critical land bridge forms a barrier between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, which are hydrologically connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Along Lake Borgne between Bayou Bienvenue and Alligator Point, there has been continued loss of shoreline and inland ponds have widened.

The CIAP was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Through the program, MMS annually, from 2007 – 2010, will disburse $250 million in grants to six eligible Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states – Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, California, Mississippi and Texas. The funding to Louisiana includes $127.5 million for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008, totaling $255 million. Nineteen Coastal Political Subdivisions (parishes) will share in the funding for projects outlined in the state’s approved plan.