Breaux Act Newsflash - Task Force to hold next quarterly public meeting in Lafayette

Task Force to Hold Next Quarterly Meeting in Lafayette

The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force,
charged with implementing the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act (CWPPRA), also known as the Breaux Act, will hold its
quarterly meeting Wednesday, June 4, 9:30 a.m., at the Estuarine Habitats
and Coastal Fisheries Center, 646 Cajundome Blvd in Lafayette.

The public is invited to attend this meeting and comments are welcome.

The proposed agenda includes discussion of 10 candidate projects and three
demonstration projects that were selected by the CWPPRA Technical Committee
at a public meeting April 16 in New Orleans. These projects will be analyzed
and public meetings will be held to inform the public of the results, as
well as to solicit public comment. The Task Force will consider the
candidate projects for inclusion on Priority Project List (PPL) 18 on
January 21, 2009.

The 10 PPL 18 candidate projects are: Bayou Bienvenue Restoration Project
(Pontchartrain Basin), Pass a Loutre Restoration Project (Mississippi River
Delta Basin), Bertrandville Siphon Project (Breton Sound Basin), Elmer's
Island Headland Restoration Project (Barataria Basin), Grand Liard Marsh and
Ridge Restoration Project (Barataria Basin), Terrebonne Bay Shoreline
Protection/Marsh Creation Project (Terrebonne Basin), Central Terrebonne
Freshwater Enhancement Project (Terrebonne Basin), Northwest Vermilion Bay
Vegetative Planting and Maintenance Project (Teche-Vermilion Basin),
Cameron-Creole Freshwater Introduction Project (Calcasieu-Sabine Basin),
Freshwater Bayou Marsh Creation Project (Mermentau Basin).

The three PPL 18 Candidate Demonstration Projects are: EcoSystems Wave
Attenuator Demo Project; Benefits of Limited Design/Unconfined Beach Fill
for Restoration of Louisiana Barrier Islands Demo Project, and; Non-Rock
Alternatives to Shoreline Protection Demo Project.

The Task Force will also consider a recommendation to deauthorize: the
Periodic Introduction of Sediment & Nutrients at Selected Diversion Sites
Demonstration Project, and Grand Bayou Hydrologic Restoration.

Louisiana has lost approximately 1,900 square miles of coastal land,
primarily coastal marshes, during the 20th century and could lose another
700 square miles over the next 50 years if no new restoration takes place.
The change from land to water in all of coastal Louisiana east of the
Mississippi River from 2004 to 2005 was 72.9 square miles, exceeding the
60-square miles projected to occur from a period of 50 years (2000-2050) in
the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Study.

CWPPRA was established by an act of Congress and signed into law by
President George Bush in 1990 to restore and protect Louisiana's coastal
wetlands. CWPPRA is composed of five federal agencies, including: The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Agriculture (Natural Resources
Conservation Service), Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries
Service), Department of Interior (Fish and Wildlife Service), the
Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of Louisiana, which is the
local cost share partner on all CWPPRA projects.

Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection & Restoration Act Public Outreach
Office
337-266-8623
POC: David Marks marksd@usgs.gov
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