LOCATION:
The study and project areas comprise the coastal parishes of Louisiana.
PURPOSE:
To plan, design, construct, maintain, and monitor coastal wetlands
restoration projects that provide for the long-term conservation of
wetlands and dependent fish and wildlife populations in coastal
Louisiana.
PROJECT AUTHORITY:
Activities were authorized by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection
and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) (Title III of Public Law 101-646, dated 29
November 1990), as amended, through FY 1999. On Oct 20, 1999, Public Law
106-74 amended CWPPRA to provide authority through FY 2000. Senate Bill 1119,
which was passed by the Senate without amendment on November 19, 1999, and sent to
the House on November 22, 1999, provides for CWPPRA authority through FY 2009.
PROJECT FUNDING:
CWPPRA funding is provided by the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 and comes from excise taxes on fishing equipment and fuel taxes on motorboat and small engines. These taxes are deposited and remain in the Department of the Interior's Sport Fish Restoration Account where they are managed/invested until payments are required. Excluding the non-Federal dollars, anywhere from $33 - $47 million per year is made available to the Corps via work allowances. Of this amount, $5 million/year is dedicated to the Task Force planning effort which is cost- shared at 100%Fed / 0%non-Fed. On June 9, 1998, Public Law 105-178 extended the transfer of the excise taxes in to the Sport Fish Restoration Account through FY 2005.
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:
Louisiana's 3.5 million acres of coastal wetlands represent about 40 percent of all
of the coastal wetlands in the continental United States. These wetlands are
extremely valuable; not only because of their commercial, recreational, and cultural
values, but also because of the biological and physical process benefits they provide
to coastal communities, the state and the Nation. Coastal wetland habitats in
Louisiana serve as a foundation for a $1 billion seafood industry, a $200 million
sport hunting industry, a $14 million alligator industry, valuable fur resources,
wild crawfish resources, hardwood timber and commercial livestock rangelands that
equate to thousands of jobs crucial to the economies of many coastal communities.
The wetlands also provide important hurricane and storm protection to coastal
communities. Because of the alteration of several important coastal wetland
processes over the past 75-80 years, Louisiana has lost more than 600,000 acres
of coastal vegetated wetlands and is now losing coastal wetlands at an annual
rate of more than 25-35 square miles per year (20,000-25,000 acres per year).
Potential solutions include: 1) restoring natural processes, such as the
introduction of natural flow of sediment and freshwater into coastal marshes,
2) restoring hydrologic conditions, 3) shoreline protection and barrier island
reconstruction, 4) vegetative plantings, and 5)marsh creation.
PROJECT STATUS:
Priority Lists.
CWPPRA established the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force. The Task Force consists of the delegated representatives of the Secretary of the Army (chairman); the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; the Governor of the State of Louisiana; the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Agriculture; and the Secretary of Commerce. To date, 8 Priority Project Lists and a total of 80 active projects have been authorized by the Task Force. These projects provide benefits in the restoration and protection of 69,991 acres of coastal wetlands. Federal funds and non-Federal funds in the amounts of $273,065,062 and $45,517,657, respectively, are available for construction.
Completed Projects.
Construction has been completed on 32 projects.
Restoration Plan.
In response to Section 303(b) of the CWPPRA, the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan report was published in November 1993. Following public review of the final report, a Record of Decision was prepared, signed by the Task Force chairman, and submitted to HQUSACE for transmittal to the ASA(CW). The report is currently being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget prior to transmittal to the Congress.
Feasibility Studies.
Recognizing that restoration of the state's coastal wetlands requires projects of a more complex nature and a larger scope than can be analyzed in the process of developing annual priority lists, the Task Force has authorized the initiation of two feasibility studies. The Mississippi River Sediment, Nutrient, and Freshwater Redistribution study, which is being managed by the Corps of Engineers, is intended to develop a plan for optimizing the resources of the Mississippi River, giving consideration to the river's many uses (e.g., navigation and water supply, in addition to creation and nourishment of wetlands). Phase I of the report is scheduled for completion in December 1999. The Louisiana Barrier Shoreline study, which is being managed by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, is intended to determine the feasibility of restoring the state's barrier islands and other shorelines to protect coastal wetlands and related resources. The first phase of this study was completed in April 1999.
Conservation Plan.
The State of Louisiana has developed a conservation plan in accordance with Section 304 of the act. The plan estimates that less than 200 acres of coastal wetlands are lost due to developmental activities and recommends measures to offset these losses. The Administrator of the EPA, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Secretary of the Army approved the plan in November 1997. The State's share in project construction was reduced to 10 percent for projects on the 5th and 6th Priority Project Lists, and to 15 percent for the unexpended funds as of 1 December 1997 for all other projects.
Coast 2050.
In June 1997, the Task Force initiated a strategic planning effort called Coast 2050. The purpose of this program was to develop, within 18 months, a technically sound strategic plan to sustain coastal resources and provide an integrated multiple use approach to ecosystem management. The development of this strategy differs from the 1993 restoration plan in that regional strategies, rather than basin strategies, will be developed and prioritized. Also, the regional strategies will be integrated into other coastal uses, such as navigation, water supply, transportation, and flood protection. The effort involved soliciting public opinion and recommendations on coastal planning and restoration efforts. The draft Coast 2050 report was completed in December 1998. The Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study, initiated in Fiscal Year 2000, will explore implementation of Coast 2050 strategies under the Water Resources Development Act.
RELATED LINKS:
Breaux Coastal Wetlands Act (385 KB PDF)
Louisiana Coastal Restoration Web Site
Senior Project Manager: Tom Podany (504) 862-2502
