SUMMARY

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board of Louisiana, through the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), has submitted a Joint Permit Application to the Department of the Army (DA) under the provisions of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) (Section 404), and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, as amended (33 U.S.C. 403) (“Section 10”) and a permission request under Section 14 (33 U.S.C. 408) (Section 408) of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”), at the New Orleans District (CEMVN) for CPRA’s proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion  ( Proposed Action).  

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to disclose and analyze all significant environmental impacts of the Proposed Action as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) regulations found in 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508.  This EIS will address the Public Interest Review requirements of 33 CFR Parts 320-332 including 33 CFR Part 325, Appendix B, 33 U.S.C. 408 and 40 CFR Part 230 (Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines), so that the EIS, when completed, will provide information required for an informed decision on the DA permit application and Section 408 permission request. Any additional information required for the Section 408 permission request beyond the completed final EIS will not be done by the selected third party contractor (TPC).

The Proposed Action generally consists of the placement of a sediment diversion through a portion of the federal Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project mainline levee on the right descending bank of the Mississippi River (River) at approximately River Mile 60.7 and through the future New Orleans to Venice (NOV) Hurricane Protection Levee, extending into the mid-Barataria Basin in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

Below is a general EIS schedule for the major milestones.  Click here for the more detailed MBSD Permitting Dashboard Schedule.