LA TIG Restoration Plan #3: Barataria Basin Habitat Strategic Plan and #3.2: Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Planning
Implementing Organization
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; State of Louisiana; US Department of Agriculture; US Department of the Interior; US Environmental Protection Agency
Overview
DWH Project Funding
$10,348,204
Known Leveraged Funding
$0
Funding Organization
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees (NRDA)
Funding Program
Natural Resource Damage Assessment NRDA
Details
Project Category
Other
Project Actions
Planning
Targeted Resources
Wetlands/Marshes/Estuaries
Project Description
In the 2018 Strategic Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #3: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats in the Barataria Basin, Louisiana (SRP/EA #3), the LA TIG identified a large-scale sediment diversion project in the Barataria Basin as one that should move forward for detailed planning and analysis under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). In SRP/EA #3, the LA TIG considered a range of strategic alternatives that would restore ecosystem-level injuries in the Gulf of Mexico through the restoration of critical wetlands, and coastal and nearshore habitat resources and services in the Barataria Basin. The LA TIG selected a high-level strategic alternative that included a sediment diversion, marsh creation, and ridge restoration projects. In SRP/EA #3, the LA TIG also selected a Mid-Barataria sediment diversion as the specific sediment diversion project to move forward for further analysis. In March 2021, the LA TIG released Draft Phase II Restoration Plan #3.2 which evaluated a proposed 75,000 cfs capacity Mid-Barataria sediment diversion (i.e., the Proposed MBSD Project) and five alternatives for this project under OPA. Concurrently, the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) also issued the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed MBSD. Public review of both the draft restoration plan and draft environmental impact statement are ongoing.
Contact
Mel Landry(225) 778-7380
mel.landry@noaa.gov
Project Website
None
For official trustee information regarding the Deepwater Horizon NRDA, including information regarding the NRDA process and the status of projects, see https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/