CPRA’s Next Meeting

Is scheduled for Wednesday November 30, 2016 at 9:30 at the Louisiana State Capitol, House Committee Room 5, 900 North Third St., Baton Rouge, LA. For more info contact 225-342-3968. The meeting will be the year in review of progress made by CPRA on coastal restoration and protection. This will be CPRA’s last public meeting in 2016.

CWPPRA’s CRMS Webex Training

The public is invited to join a training session and presentation on how to use CWPPRA's Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) website, which provides data for several monitoring parameters including land to water ratios, surface water salinity, surface water temperature, water levels, soil pore water, vegetation, soil characteristics, marsh surface elevation and accretion. Open to the public, but RSVP is required by contacting Sarai Piazza (piazzas@usgs.gov) by November 28th. The training is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, 2016, 10am to 12pm.

The State of Louisiana will soon owe the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about $100 million per year for the next 30 years for its share of the cost for New Orleans new $14.5 billion hurricane defense system. State officials, worried that this money is urgently needed for additional coastal restoration and protection projects, are asking Congress to consider waiving the debt. Although the request faces a very steep climb in a budget-conscious Congress, there is precedent in the debt forgiveness that happened after Hurricane Katrina. See article by Bob Marshall in The New Orleans Advocate.

1. CPRA Quarterly report

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has released a quarterly progress report which contains lists of projects that have been recently completed, projects under construction, projects soon to be released for bid, and projects in the engineering and design phase. This is a useful resource for businesses and communities who are closely following restoration progress in specific areas.

On October 20, 2016, the Office of Management and Budget and the White House Council on Environmental Quality released guidance for federal agencies to use in the review and permitting of restoration projects for the Gulf Coast. This guidance will be used as a blueprint for the Gulf Coast Interagency Environmental Working Group, which is the coordinating body for federal agencies working on restoration and responsible for overseeing restoration efforts funded by the penalties BP paid for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Conservation groups said the new guidance will help fast-track Gulf restoration.

On Oct. 20, 2016, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), along with the other state and federal agencies comprising the Louisiana Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustee Implementation Group, released its first Draft Restoration Plan. This plan proposes $22.3 million in restoration projects in Louisiana to address environmental damages resulting from the 2010 Gulf oil disaster and lays out a vision for future investments. It is the first natural resource restoration plan to be released since the NRDA settlement was approved in April 2016. The draft plan advances key restoration projects and sets the stage for future sediment diversions. For more info, see the NRDA website, NOLA.com article and press release by the Mississippi River Delta Coalition. The draft NRDA restoration plan is open for public comment through Nov. 21, 2016.

As part of the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) – in partnership with Restore or Retreat and numerous community partners throughout coastal Louisiana – will host a series of six Community Conversations during October to update residents on the master plan and receive valuable input and feedback that will be used in developing the draft plan, which will be released in January 2017 for formal public comment and review. Each Community Conversation will include:

• An open house beginning at 5:00 p.m. designed to share information about the master plan and ongoing efforts by CPRA and its community partners; and
• Dinner served to all participants at 5:40 p.m., followed by a CPRA presentation at 6:00 p.m. and group discussion about the master plan, potential projects and programs, and more.

The Community Conversation schedule is as follows:

Buras
October 4, 2016
Buras Community Center
36342 Highway 11
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Dulac
October 6, 2016
Dulac Community Center
125 Coast Guard Road
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Lake Charles
October 12 2016
Lake Charles Civic Center
900 Lakeshore Drive
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Larose
October 13, 2016
Larose Civic Center
307 E 5th Street
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Lafitte
October 18, 2016
Lafitte Multipurpose Center
4917 City Park Drive
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

New Orleans
October 19, 2016
Dillard University PSB
2601 Gentilly Boulevard
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
For more information, please visit http://coastal.la.gov/a-common-vision/master-plan or contact masterplan@la.gov.
Click here for event flyer.

Hale Boggs Federal Building
500 Poydras Street
Suite 1117
New Orleans, LA 70130
www.RestoreTheGulf.gov

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Releases Draft Comprehensive Plan Update

~ A series of public meetings will be held across the Gulf Coast ~

NEW ORLEANS, LA – The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) today released a proposed update to its 2013 Comprehensive Plan. The draft provides important additional strategic guidance for the Council to follow as it makes decisions on funding projects and activities aimed at restoring the Gulf of Mexico.

The draft Comprehensive Plan Update is intended to improve Council decisions by:

• Reinforcing the Council's goals and objectives;
• Setting forth an initial Ten-Year Funding Strategy;
• Establishing the Council's vision for Gulf restoration;
• Increasing collaboration among Council members and partner restoration programs;
• Providing for advancement of large-scale projects and programs;
• Refining the process for ensuring that the Council's decisions are informed by the best available science; and
• Improving the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of Council actions.

The Council is updating its Initial Comprehensive Plan now in order to take into account recent developments in Gulf restoration such as the resolution of civil claims against BP for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a source of future funding for the Council’s projects. The update also captures important public input and lessons learned from the process of developing and approving its initial Funded Priorities List (FPL), its first slate of restoration activities to be funded through the RESTORE Act, and positions the Council to make the most effective use of future funds as they become available beginning in 2017.

"The Council is pleased to present this draft Comprehensive Plan Update to the public and we look forward to your comments," said Justin R. Ehrenwerth, Executive Director of the Council. "We want to hear your thoughts on how the Council can best move forward with comprehensive restoration across the coast."

Public comments on the draft Comprehensive Plan Update will be accepted from August 23, 2016 to October 7, 2016.

Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center

2000 Lakeshore Drive

New Orleans, LA, 70148 Open house: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting: 6:00 p.m.,CST Sept. 20, 2016 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center

30945 Five Rivers Boulevard

Spanish Fort, AL, 36527 Open house: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting: 6:00 p.m., CST Sept. 22, 2016 Morgan City Municipal Auditorium

728 Myrtle Street

Morgan City, LA, 70381 Open house: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting: 6:00 p.m., CST Sept. 26, 2016 University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast

Fleming Education Center Auditorium

730 East Beach Boulevard

Long Beach, MS, 39560 Open house: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting: 6:00 p.m., CST Sept. 29, 2016 Sea Scout Base

7509 Broadway

Galveston, TX, 77554 Open house: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting: 6:00 p.m., CST Oct. 4, 2016 Webinar

The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act) established the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) and the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund (Trust Fund), and dedicates 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the Trust Fund, for restoration projects in the Gulf Coast region. The Council is responsible for administering 60 percent of the total funding allocated from the Trust Fund: 30 percent (plus interest) under the Council-Selected Restoration Component and 30 percent under the Spill Impact Component. The Council is chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and members include the Governors of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, as well as the Secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, the Army and the Interior, and the Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Council is responsible for helping to restore the ecosystems and economies of the Gulf Coast region by developing and overseeing implementation of a Comprehensive Plan and carrying out other responsibilities. Read more about the Comprehensive Plan, the RESTORE Act and the Council at www.RestoreTheGulf.gov.

(The Advocate, Aug. 8, 2016) “Plaquemines, New Orleans and Baton Rouge are among the 10 ports worldwide that face the greatest financial risk from disasters, according to risk management firm RMS Inc. … Plaquemines had the third-highest potential loss, with an estimated catastrophe loss of $1.5 billion. Plaquemines' vulnerability to hurricanes and the type of cargo it handles, like other Gulf of Mexico ports, increased its catastrophe risk, according to RMS. New Orleans ranked No. 5 at $1 billion in potential catastrophe losses. Baton Rouge ranked No. 8 with $800 million in potential losses” (read more).

Click here for related article in Business Wire.

The full report is available on the RMS, Inc. website.

(New Orleans – July 21, 2016) Today, the Sediment Diversion Operations Expert Working Group – a team of leading scientists and community experts with decades of experience working in coastal Louisiana – released key recommendations for operating Mississippi River sediment diversions to most effectively build and maintain land while considering the needs of communities, wildlife and fisheries.

Sediment diversions are engineering structures consisting of gates and channels that will be built into Mississippi River levees to allow fresh river water, sediment and other nutrients to flow into wetlands to help build and sustain land. These manmade diversions will mimic the natural processes that originally built the land of coastal Louisiana. Lessons learned in Louisiana about how to use nature to rebuild land and protect coastal communities can be applied to other regions facing similar risks of coastal erosion, rising seas and increased storms.

The state of Louisiana is advancing two diversion projects south of New Orleans toward construction in 2020. Both the Mid Barataria and Mid Breton sediment diversions are included in the state’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan, which was unanimously approved by the Louisiana Legislature. The Sediment Diversion Operations Expert Working Group, noting that how a sediment diversion is operated will be critical to its overall success, released their independent recommendations with the goal of informing the state as it starts to develop operations plans for these sediment diversions.

The team of 12 experts serving on the Sediment Diversion Operations Expert Working Group issued its recommendations after eight months of analysis and discussion, which included collaboration with more than 40 additional specialists on issues ranging from wetland health to socio-economic effects. In their report, the group recommends operating diversions to take full advantage of winter flood peaks and to target the rising flow of the spring flood peaks, establishing robust monitoring programs as well as flexibility to modify operations rapidly as conditions change, and maintaining transparent and open communications with communities and industries that could be affected by diversions.

“These carefully researched recommendations provide an opportunity to maximize the tremendous land-building potential of sediment diversions, while seeking to protect Louisiana’s abundant natural resources,” said Natalie Peyronnin, Director of Science Policy with Environmental Defense Fund, who acted as facilitator for the working group.

Key recommendations include:

• Sediment diversions should be operated on a pulse that mimics the natural flood cycle of the Mississippi River, which includes taking full advantage of winter flood peaks from November through February when the greatest concentration of sediment is available in the river to sustain the coastal wetlands, as well as operating in the spring when sand needed for building land is at its highest.
• Operations plans should include robust monitoring and flexibility for adjustments based on rapidly changing conditions, such as hurricanes and other events.
• Diversions should be opened gradually over a 5-10 year period to help develop distributary channel networks, reduce flooding risks, and allow plants, fish, and wildlife species to adjust to new conditions.
• Local communities, industries and others that will be affected by diversions must be consulted and kept informed throughout all phases of diversion development and operations. Genuine attempts to mitigate socio-economic effects without compromising the effectiveness of the diversion are critical.
• A clear governance structure should be established to determine roles and responsibilities of all parties and to establish a transparent decision-making process for diversion operations.

Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost nearly 1,900 square miles of land, or a football field of land every hour, primarily due to leveeing of the river for flood control and navigation. In the midst of this ongoing land loss crisis, sediment diversions are vital restoration tools needed to build and sustain coastal wetlands. These wetlands are crucial for protecting communities and industries from the effects of storms and rising seas as well as providing habitat for birds and wildlife.

For more information: Visit MississippiRiverDelta.org/DiversionOpsReport

By John Guidroz / American Press (August 05, 2016)

“The Southwest Coastal Louisiana Feasibility Study saw more progress Wednesday as the Army Corps of Engineers issued the final report needed to send the study to Congress for funding consideration. The study includes about $3.3 billion in coastal protection and restoration projects for Cameron, Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes. The recommendations must be included in the 2016 Water Resources Development Act, and the projects must be federally authorized for construction. If that happens, the Corps can request funding in next year’s presidential budget. If the projects are funded, construction on them would likely begin in 2018” (read more).

In a related article in Dredging Today, Sen. John Vitter calls the report "A huge step forward for Southwest Louisiana."

By National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. July 26, 2016.

“To improve and ensure the efficacy of restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following Deepwater Horizon – the largest oil spill in U.S. history – a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends a set of best practices for monitoring and evaluating ecological restoration activities.” (read more)

While Louisiana loses coastline, St. Charles gained 9 acres

By Anna Thibodeaux, St. Charles Herald. July 22, 2016.

“While the Louisiana coast is losing an alarming 16 square miles of land a year to the Gulf of Mexico, St. Charles Parish’s shoreline has grown by 9 acres.” (read more)

Published: Tuesday, July 19, 2016

The Army Corps of Engineers has picked a new leader for the division that oversees flood control, navigation and Clean Water Act permitting for wetlands and waterways.

James Dalton will be the acting director of civil works, replacing Steve Stockton, who'll retire Aug. 3 after four decades in the corps.

As engineering and construction chief, Dalton will also serve as chairman of the corps' Climate Change Adaptation Steering Committee and lead efforts on resilience. He testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in April on water scarcity (E&E Daily, April 18).

Dalton joined the corps in 1978, starting at the Wilmington District in North Carolina. He has worked in corps outposts abroad, including South Korea, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bosnia. He has also worked for the corps' South Atlantic Division in Atlanta and the Alaska District in Anchorage.

Dalton holds a bachelor's degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a master's from N.C. State University.

By US Department of Agriculture (July 7, 2016)
These projects will help to protect, restore or enhance 15,000 wetland acres in critical watersheds across the United States in 12 states, including Louisiana (read more).

Journal Gazette & Times Courier (June 30, 2016)

“The state was scheduled to receive [on July 1st ] $200 million from BP, the first portion of the state’s settlement for economic damages associated with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne updated state officials Thursday about the payment, which is earmarked to fill state budget gaps.

Louisiana is expected to receive up to $1 billion from BP as compensation for the spill's economic damages, with payments to arrive over 15 years. Lawmakers earmarked the rest of the money for the state's "rainy day" fund and an elderly trust fund” (read more).

By Richard Rainey, The Times-Picayune (June 30, 2016)
“Louisiana's U.S. senators are taking another crack at upping the state's future share of offshore oil revenues, a strategy sidelined during debate over sweeping changes to federal energy policies earlier this year. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. introduced legislation Wednesday (June 29) that would increase the $500 million annual cap on four Gulf states' share, starting in 202” (read more).

By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (June 23, 2016)
“Two new settlements totaling close to $1.24 billion have been reached between private BP oil spill claimants and the Halliburton and Transocean companies to settle punitive damage claims stemming from their roles in the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster” (read more).

Water management surpassed oil and gas as the leading job industry in southeast Louisiana in 2015, according to a new analysis released by the Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition. Now the largest industry in southeast Louisiana, water management accounts for nearly 32,000 jobs as of 2015, more than the maritime, hospitality and oil and gas industries, the report says. In the past five years, 9,400 new jobs have been created in the water management sector. Read more

By Amy Wold, The Advocate (June 15, 2016)
“Up to $13 million to $14 million may be available each year for infrastructure directly affected by coastal land loss, and a state board on Wednesday proposed the criteria it would use to decide how the money gets spent” (read more).