| ; , LA AREA: |
| 03/01/2006 240 Months |
| Current Status |
Effective Date |
Comments |
| Included in Recovery Plan |
04/07/2006 |
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Project Goal: Dredge the existing ship channel to its authorized width and depth, and use 10 million cubic yards of dredged material a year to restore 122,000 acres of wetlands in the marsh ecosystem over a period of 20 years.
The project directs the waste an existing successful plan, the Dredged Material Management Plan for the Port of Lake Charles to provide a coastal restoration solution for Cameron Parish wetlands. Specifically, the project calls for dredging the Calcasieu River waterway to its authorized dimensions of 400 feet wide shoreward and 800 feet wide offshore, with a 40 foot minimum depth, and use the dredged material to improve and restore the wetlands and to provide storm surge protection along the coast. Individual marsh creation sites are defined in the Dredged Material Management Plan for the Port of Lake Charles and at sites requested by the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge and the Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge. An additional project site for the beneficial use of dredged material would be the restoration of Rabbit Island in Lake Calcasieu to serve as a model for habitat restoration.
The Calcasieu River waterway enables transit of over 55,000,000 tons of cargo annually on over 1,000 oil, gas, and cargo vessels. With the construction of two additional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals on the river, and the expansion of bulk timber industry contracts, a 70 percent increase in tonnage through the Port of Lake Charles is expected by the year 2010. Additionally, the marsh adjacent to the water way has deteriorated through salt water intrusion over the years as a result of federal navigation projects and from the total over-washing of Cameron Parish by the storm surge from Hurricane Rita.
The high salinity in the marsh areas have detrimentally impacted the habitat for fish, shellfish, and wildlife which support the $27 million fishing industry and cattle industry in Cameron Parish. Sixty-Eight (68) percent of Cameron Parish is marshland, and the U.S. Geological Survey and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will determine the amount of destruction to the marshes through aerial imagery in late summer of 2006. The Calcasieu/Sabine Basin contains about 312,500 acres of wetlands, consisting of 32,800 acres of fresh marsh, 112,000 acres of intermediate marsh, 158,200 of brackish marsh, and 9,500 acres of saline marsh. A total of 122,000 acres have been lost since 1932, 28 percent of the marsh that existed in 1932.
Selected marsh creation projects through the beneficial use of dredged channel material currently exist in the Port of Lake Charles’ Dredged Material Management Plan, and this comprehensive plan identifies additional opportunities for marsh creation to restore the natural habitat and to provide storm surge protection for Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. All of the marsh creation projects are dependent upon the approval and funding of the Port of Lake Charles’ DMMP plan because most of the material needed for the marsh creation projects must be dredged from the ship channel. Although this is a comprehensive plan, each marsh creation site can be constructed as an individual project and can receive funds from either the CWPPRA program or from the State of Louisiana.
This comprehensive plan has widespread support from the residents, the environmental communities, commercial interests, and business and industry. The economic and ecological health of southwest Louisiana depends upon the maintenance of the Calcasieu River Ship Channel and the restoration of the wetlands. The marsh areas are the sole source of income for the subsistence fishermen who make their living off of the oysters, shellfish, and fish in Cameron Parish. According to the 2000 Census, 41 percent of the households in Cameron Parish earn less than $25,000 which is below the 75 percentile of median income of $34,232. Of these households, 9.1 percent of the families are actually below the poverty level.
This project can begin upon approval of the Calcasieu River Dredged Disposal Management Plan which is currently on an expedited review time schedule by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The project impacts the industrial/business sectors of the community by improving shipping facilities. It impacts the environment by improving marshlands, improving the natural habitat for hunting, fishing and tourism, and improving storm surge flooding protection from tropical storms and hurricanes.
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