Projects given corps’ approval for development

State officials and representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inked agreements Friday for the development and pre-construction engineering of flood control and coastal restoration projects with a price tag that totaled $20 million.

The document signing ceremony in New Orleans, represented the first step in implementing the Louisiana Coastal Area 6 Design Agreement. Included are 15 projects for which nearly $1.4 billion in coastal restoration funding is waiting budgetary allocation by Congress and the White House.

The first of six specified projects offered attention is restoration of the Terrebonne Basin barrier shoreline. This project for barrier island restoration was identified in the Louisiana Coastal Area Program and authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.

The project area comprises the Timbalier and Isles Dernieres barrier island chains of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. The goal is to decrease deterioration of the islands and achieve a sustainable coastal ecosystem.

Work on this project would include grain and sand fencing, dune restoration, marsh creation, beach restoration and nourishment, vegetation planting, herbivore control and canal backfilling. All together the plan calls for 5,840 acres of restoration.

“We continue to work with the corps,” Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District President Tony Alford said. “The corps understands that we need permits to connect the dots [on existing projects]. We will work with the state to try and get funding since we are not getting it from the federal government.”

Alford said he was appreciative of the idea of barrier island building in terms of broader coastal restoration, but noted the ongoing efforts to secure corps cooperation is moving forward on Morganza-to-the-Gulf initiatives. “If we get an additional $100 million in funds we ought to be able to connect the dots.”

The second project signed for approval would see the development of a fresh water and sediment transfer from the Atchafalaya River to marsh areas of Terrebonne Parish, north of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

The effort would benefit St. Mary Parish by removing sediment from critical channels and replenishing Terrebonne marshes with the material. It was a project proposed nearly a year ago by leaders in St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes.

Additional projects offered acceptance include a diversion ditch project on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish and projects in outlying areas.