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| 06/01/2007 60 Months |
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This project will add rock dike and sediment to the degraded marsh or in open shallow ponds. It will build on and enhance two proposed Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) projects (PO 30 and PO 32, Phase I E&D; completed), to include rock dike and sediment along the shorelines of Lake Borgne and the northeastern shoreline of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). It will maintain and improve shoreline integrity, decrease shoreline erosion and stabilize the north bank of MRGO. In addition, this project proposes the creation and/or restoration of approximately 1,000 acres of intermediate marsh between the Lake Borgne shoreline and the MRGO as a result of the rock dike and sediment placement.
This proposed project includes a portion of three existing CWPPRA coastal projects, PO-30 and PO-31 and PO-32. It is listed in the Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act and is a priority project on the LaCoast listing of Regional Ecosystem Strategies.
The goals of this project are to maintain and improve shoreline integrity, decrease shoreline erosion and stabilize the shorelines of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and Lake Borgne.
The Biloxi MRGO – Lake Borgne Landbridge is directly related to physical damages sustained in the disaster and provides an opportunity to improve on pre-disaster conditions by restoring approximately 4.5% or 1.5 square miles of the total land that was lost due to the hurricane and establishes the infrastructure to continue to restore marsh as well as a defined edge that is "armored’ to mitigate future losses.
Prior to the storms, the Lake Pontchartrain / Borne basin was losing over 6 square miles of marsh per year over the previous 16 year period. Hurricane Katrina caused over 19 square miles of land loss which is more than 3 years of land loss in a single storm. As the land bridges are lost, estuarine processes would push farther into the basin and erosion rates would increase.
This project is essential to the health and safety of the community in that it rebuilds damaged property, protects key ecosystems, wildlife and natural areas and improves water quality.
St. Bernard’s vision is to provide a strong, safe, secure place for its residents. This is primarily accomplished through stronger levees, a restored coast line and adequate surge and flood protection. The Biloxi Marshes contribute to storm surge reduction in adjacent communities in St. Bernard, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Tammany parishes. At the Louisiana Speaks Recovery Planning Day (01/21/06), parish residents stated their #1 priority as building better levees and other hurricane protection measures. The community strongly supports coastal restoration, flood protection and hurricane protection projects.
Both the parish council and the citizens’ recovery committee have endorsed coastal restoration and taller levees as the number one priority to provide a safe, secure environment for residents and businesses to feel safe enough to return the parish to recover from the disaster.
Coastal restoration projects provide overall mitigation measures because they establish the first line of defense between the residents of the parish and storm surge. A six foot ridge with woody vegetation, incorporated with 6 miles of marsh will reduce storm surge by 2 – 3 feet. This provides an excellent mitigation measure for the parish to reduce future losses due to tropical storms and hurricanes.
This project restores critical ecosystems in the parish that provide protection from storms as well as natural habitat that support commercial and recreational fishing. Coastal restoration is taking a fore-front at the national level with the USACE LACPR project. This project is an element of this national discussion related to the importance of investing in coastal restoration and levees as a combined strategy for storm protection in Louisiana. This project will make a significant impact on attaining this goal.
In addition to the benefit of storm surge protection, these islands will present additional opportunities for vegetation to become established. By providing sites for more vegetation along these new islands, the estuary will be enlarged. Varied habitat will be created around the islands and reefs by virtue of the varied slopes, water depths, and salinities. Migratory and shore birds will also benefit from the additional resting and nesting habitat.
St. Bernard Parish has origins in the commercial fishing industry. Before oil and gas, citizens of St. Bernard made their living from the swamp, marsh and sea. The marsh lands are a significant component of the community culture. Restoring this marsh will have a positive affect on the social and cultural elements of the community. The marsh islands afford recreation in the form of fishing and boating in close proximity to their homes.
Prior to the storms, 34% of the households residing in St. Bernard parish earned less than 75% of the median household income of the parish. Coastal restoration projects that reduce the chance of flooding assist low and moderate income households because these households are less likely to relocate or elevate their property due to limited financial resources.
This project suggests three sources of funding including matching funds through the Louisiana Recovery Authority and funding from the CWPPRA program sponsored by the US Army Corps of Engineers or Environmental Protection Agency. This funding program provides a balance between local interests, state programs, and federal support of coastal restoration in Louisiana. It is anticipated that marsh creation, ridge restoration, and barrier island restoration projects will be incorporated into the USACE program for Louisiana’s Coastal and Flood Protection project that is due for presentation to the US Congress in June of 2006.
The Citizens Recovery Committee and Parish Council will continue to explore additional opportunities for funding through the following environmental restoration grant/foundation programs:
Louisiana Recovery Authority
CWPPRA
US Army Corps of Engineers
US Environmental Protection Agency
National Resource Conservation Service
National Marine Fisheries
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
The project is consistent with state and federal guidance and policy for coastal restoration in Louisiana and will require the completion of environmental and design documentation prior to final authorization.
Building marsh by rock armoring has been determined to be an efficient means of restoring and conserving natural resources and is effective in sustaining valuable wetlands. This project will pay for itself in the long run as the MRGO – Lake Borgne Landbridge is critical to the survival of coastal protection and the continued survival of the fishing and oyster production industries in the region. These industries contribute to the parish’s cultural and economic sustainability. Without the landbridge, salinity levels in this area will increase causing the destruction additional marsh that will lead to the decimation of oyster industry and considerable economic impact to the region. The loss of marsh land will also reduce the amount of area needed to sustain the estuaries which are the breeding grounds for fish.
Building marsh in the MRGO – Lake Borgne Landbridge consists of an Engineering and Design (E&D;) phase as well as and construction phase. The engineering and design includes a project environmental assessment including NEPA compliance, agency coordination, public comment, real estate planning and the development of plans and specifications for the project. This first phase will require a 24 month schedule to complete after authorization of funding.
E & D Phase I Probable Costs: $ 5,000,000
The MRGO-Lake Borgne landbridge could follow the same phasing as the CWPPRA projects. Costs are based on estimates from the US Army Corps of Engineers and similar to costs associated with the CWPPRA projects.
The proposed rock dike will be 4-6 feet high, with a 5-foot crown and side slopes of 1:3. The dike will have a 3-foot layer of armor stone placed on top of a crushed stone core resting on a layer of geotextile fabric. Any flotation channel needed will be excavated, and the spoil placed behind the rock dikes. Fish dips will be constructed so as to allow organism and water exchange. More detail can be found by contacting the New Orleans District, Army Corps of Engineers.
A total of 17 miles of rock armoring is needed adjacent to the MRGO channel. Costs are estimated at $1.5 Million per mile for a total cost of Phase I construction of $25,500,000. Construction is estimated to take 36 months after authorization.
Construction Phase I Probable Costs: $25,500,000
Construction phases for the project include establishing a protected "edge" for the marsh. This is the area where the marsh transitions into the open waters of Lake Borgne. This "edge" will be rock armored in order to protect the internal marsh areas from wave and tidal action. A total of 23 miles of rock armoring is needed along the landbridge at Lake Borgne. Estimated at $1.5 Million per mile, the total cost of Phase II Construction is $31,500,000 and is estimated to take 12 months to complete after authorization.
Construction Phase II Probable Costs: $31,500,000
Marsh creation is estimated at $50,000/acre. 100 acres are proposed to be constructed in connection with this project and can be accomplished in a subsequent phase at a cost of $5,000,000 and take 18 months to complete.
Construction Phase III Probable Costs: 5,000,000
Total Project Cost: 67,000,000
To date, $1.7 million has been approved for engineering by CWPPRA for Project PO-30 toward an estimated construction cost of $21 million. This project proposed to construct approximately 17,700 (3.35 miles) of rock dike. CWPPRA project PO-31 proposes to armor 2.8 miles of the MRGO-Lake Borgne Landbridge at an estimated cost of $11.9 million. These projects are sponsored by the EPA.
These two projects have been combined into CWPPRA project PO-32. This project proposes to armor a total of 32,750 feet of rock dike at the MRGO-Lake Borgne Landbridge. This project is sponsored by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is budgeted for engineering only at $1.35 million to date.
This project, although an individual project, is not mutually exclusive from the other 12 coastal restoration, flood and hurricane protection projects. Constructing all will provide the level of protection required for St. Bernard Parish and the region and insure the continuation of the fishing industry so valuable to the region.
In the largest public awareness initiative in its history, Louisiana is leading America's WETLAND: Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana. The campaign is raising awareness of the impact of Louisiana's wetland loss and increase support for efforts to conserve and save coastal Louisiana.
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