Louisiana Group Releases First Draft Restoration Plan

The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group has released its first restoration plan to address natural resource injuries from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to the NOAA’s Gulf Spill Restoration website.

The draft restoration plan covers engineering and design activities for six proposed projects, which will restore: wetlands, coastal and nearshore habitats in Barataria, Terrebonne, and Pontchartrain basins, habitat projects on federally managed lands in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, etc.

The total estimated cost for the engineering and design activities for the proposed restoration projects is $22.3 million.

Information developed through these activities will be considered in the implementation phase for these projects, which will be addressed in a subsequent restoration plan.

“We began this restoration planning effort in July 2016, by requesting project ideas from the public. We considered these ideas when identifying and screening project proposals,” said NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration.

“We are now asking for public comment on the draft restoration plan. If requested, we will schedule a public meeting to facilitate public review and comment on the draft plan.”

Comments are due by November 21, 2016.