Breaux Act Newsflash - Breaux Act Task Force to Select Coastal Wetland Restoration Projects
**************************************************************************Jan. 13, 2003
For Immediate Release
Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force to
Select Coastal Wetland Restoration Projects
The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force,
which oversees implementation of the Coastal Wetlands Planning,
Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA; also known as Breaux Act) in
Louisiana, will hold their regular quarterly meeting in New Orleans at
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the District Assembly Room on Thursday,
January 16 at 9:30 a.m. They will discuss several issues, including the
selection of coastal wetland restoration projects for Priority Project
List 12.
The Task Force will consider the recommendation of the Technical
Committee, which advises the Task Force, to approve allocation of
approximately $7.4 million to fund engineering and design for four
coastal restoration projects. They will also consider allocating another
$1 million to fund engineering, design, and construction of the
"Freshwater Floating Marsh Demonstration Project." Demonstration
projects are designed to test new coastal wetland restoration techniques
and technologies. "Lake Borgne and MRGO Shoreline Protection," the
Region 1 project being recommended, would be located in St. Bernard
Parish. "Bayou Dupont Sediment Delivery System," is the Region 2 project
under consideration and would be located near Ironton in Plaquemines
Parish and the town of Jean Lafitte in Jefferson Parish. The recommended
Region 3 project is "Avoca Island Diversion and Land Building," which
would be located in St. Mary Parish. "South White Lake Shoreline
Protection" is the Region 4 project under consideration and would be
located in Vermilion Parish. For more information about these projects
and other coastal restoration information, visit lacoast.gov.
John Saia, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will request construction
funding for the "Four Mile Canal Terracing and Sediment Trapping
Project" in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. The total cost for the project
is $4.9 million. Mr. Saia will also request construction funding for a
portion of "Barataria Basin Landbridge Shoreline Protection Project
Phases 1 and 2" and "Barataria Basin Landbridge Shoreline Protection
Project Phase 3." The portion of the Phases 1 and 2 project would
construct 20,000 feet of shoreline protection for $8.8 million, which
includes previously authorized engineering and design funding. The
portion of the Phase 3 project would construct 10,500 feet of shoreline
protection for $4.8 million, which also includes previously authorized
engineering and design funding. The Environmental Protection Agency and
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) will also request
authorization to construct the Timbalier Island Dune and Marsh Creation
Project in Terrebonne Parish for a total cost of $18.6 million. LDNR and
the federal sponsoring agencies are also requesting de-authorization for
two projects: "Upper Oak River Freshwater Introduction Siphon Project"
and "Bayou L'Ours Ridge Hydrologic Restoration Project."
Louisiana has lost an average of 25 to 35 square miles of coastal
wetlands every year for the last 50 years, which accounts for 80 percent
of the coastal wetland loss in the lower 48 states. Louisiana has
already lost 600,000 acres this century and, if nothing is done, is
expected to lose another 600,000 acres. The acreage lost is equal to
the size of Rhode Island.
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA),
enacted in 1990 and also known as the Breaux Act, provides approximately
$50 million a year for coastal protection and restoration in Louisiana.
The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force
oversees CWPPRA in Louisiana. The Task Force is comprised of the State
of Louisiana and five federal agencies, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA-Natural
Resources Conservation Service, NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service,
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Detailed meeting information is available at
http://lacoast.gov/cwppra/tf/briefing/2003-01.pdf
The latest agenda is available at
http://lacoast.gov/cwppra/tf/briefing/2003-01AgendaRevisedJan7.pdf
For more information, contact Julie Z. LeBlanc, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, at (504) 862-1597 or Julie.Z.LeBlanc@mvn02.usace.army.mil or
Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin, Outreach Coordinator, CWPPRA at (337)
266-8623 or Gabrielle_Bodin@usgs.gov.
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