BOEMRE Awards $532,000 for Louisiana Projects

Two CIAP Grants to Provide Additional Funds for Road Initiative, Bridge Replacement

NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced that it has awarded a total of $532,041 in Coastal Impact Assistant Program (CIAP) grants to Iberia and Cameron Parishes in the state of Louisiana. These grants will provide funding for the construction of a replacement bridge on Port Road, a critical link between access routes for the Port of Iberia; and for the remaining funds allocated to a 2009 project to repair Trosclair Road, a heavily-used industrial route in Cameron Parish. 

Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas producing states to conserve and protect the coastal environment. CIAP is an ongoing program with grant funding that is allocated based on the offshore energy revenues collected by the United States. 

“BOEMRE continues to support important infrastructure and road construction initiatives that are critical to coastal industry, including these two projects,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “CIAP grants enable us to work with Louisiana communities to fund vital projects that are crucial for future economic growth and the preservation of our valuable coastal environment for many years to come.” 

The first grant will provide $503,535 to Iberia Parish to design and build a replacement bridge located on Port Road, which crosses the Rodere Lateral Canal. Port Road is a vital link between South Lewis Street and Highway 329, two primary access routes to oil and port industry facilities in the Port of Iberia corridor. The replacement bridge will also lessen damage caused by heavy daily traffic of OCS-produced products and large equipment. The project is located 2.5 miles south of New Iberia, La. 

The second grant will provide $28,506 as an amendment to a 2009 CIAP grant to Cameron Parish, and provides the remaining monies allocated to the initiative. The original award, which totaled $1,611,086, funded a project between Cameron Parish and the state of Louisiana to repair 7.43 miles of Trosclair Road, an important access route to OCS activities in the parish. Construction began in March 2009 to patch and overlay the roadway between Cameron and Oak Grove, La., and was completed in June 2009. Trosclair Road supports not only the oil and gas industry in Cameron Parish, but also the commercial fishing industry and residential and interstate traffic.

CIAP received $250 million in appropriated funds for each of the Fiscal Years 2007-2010, to be disbursed to six eligible OCS oil and gas producing states: Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, California, Mississippi and Texas.

Contact: BOEMRE Public Affairs-Gulf