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Public Law 109-234-Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on
Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006, MMS received funds to
support coastal restoration efforts in the Gulf Coasts states of
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The funds are being
used to investigate available sources of Federal Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) sand that can be used to restore
portions of the coastal areas that were damaged by Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita in 2005. Sand resources needed to repair the
damaged coastlines and barrier islands of the four states is
estimated to be from 250 to more than 300 million cubic yards;
in Louisiana alone, more than 200 square miles of coastal land
was lost due to the hurricanes.
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Holly Beach, LA before and after
Hurricane Rita. Holly Beach, LA was renourished, in 2002,
through the MMS Marine Minerals Program in an effort to
protect the hurricane evacuation Rt-82 and 8,600 acres of
wetlands. Photos courtesy of USGS and NOAA
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Proposals were received from the
resource management agencies of the 4 states through
Grants.Gov. They were
reviewed by the MMS Leasing Division, the Gulf of Mexico Region
and the USGS and final proposals were received and accepted.
Criteria for funding allocation included damage in dollars to
each state’s coastline, miles of coastline actually affected by
the 2 storms, volumes of sand needed to restore each state’s
coastline, need for Federal sand versus resources available in
state waters, and amount of offshore sand evaluation work needed
to be done versus amount of work completed to date.
The Louisiana Department of
Natural Resources, was provided funding to further investigate
Tiger and Trinity shoal areas. The proposed work includes
acquisition of over 1600 miles of high-resolution seismic data
and 50 vibracores in the Trinity and Tiger Shoal area. Sand from
the area will be used for restoration of March Island,
Rockefeller Refuge, Paul Raney Refuge, and Russell Sage Refuge
in the central part of the State.
The Texas General Land Office,
was provided funding for sand studies offshore of the Galveston
area. The proposed work will include re-processing and
compilation of seismic data offshore
of Jefferson and Brazoria Counties, the areas hit the hardest by
Hurricane Rita. After this first phase of work, additional cores
and seismic data will be acquired under subcontract
with Louisiana State University. All of the data will then be
analyzed and potential borrow
areas delineated and sand volumes calculated.
The Alabama Geological Survey,
was provided funding to build a sand database for its entire
offshore area out to 25 miles. The proposed work will include
entry of all offshore sand, environmental, and infrastructure
data into a new GIS which will be placed in an interactive web
site so the user can download custom-made maps, charts and
graphs. Based on the data assembled and evaluated, potential
borrow sites will be delineated and sand volumes calculated.
The Mississippi Department of
Marine Resources, was provided funding to conduct geophysical
data analysis, coring and sampling. The proposed work includes
digitizing and compilation of seismic and vibracore data in the
St. Bernard Shoals area east to the offshore extension of the
Alabama-Mississippi line. The information will be preserved in a
database and sand volumes will be calculated.
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Last Updated:
04/28/2008,
06:51 AM
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