Louisiana

United States Department of the Interior

Content:
Anthony Giordano

Pagemasters:
Alice Drew
Marcia Oliver

Louisiana

Arial view of Louisianna coast The State of Louisiana is embarking on a very ambitious program to stave off the effects of coastal land loss and to extensively rebuild the coastal barrier islands to provide storm protection and to protect the economically vital inshore ecosystem and resources. We are a major player in this effort as the only viable, large-scale source of compatible sand for placement on the existing barrier islands of the central Louisiana coast is Ship Shoal, a topographic feature that lies at its closest point, about 9 miles from the barrier islands. Our Leasing Division is currently working on negotiated agreements with the State of Louisiana to provide the initial uses of Ship Shoal sand for two major coastal projects.

We have the authority to negotiate and finalize leases with Federal, State, and local officials for the use of Federal sand and gravel resources for public works projects. We have had an active program for many years along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts to identify suitable OCS resources that can be used for beach and coastal restoration efforts. Environmental Studies Program (ESP) funds have been expended to collect biological, physical, and other environmental information to assess the potential impacts of dredging these resources; the information has also been used to formulate stipulations and mitigation measures for lease agreements.

The MMS sits as a principle member of the State/Federal advisory groups (both the Federal Principles group and the Regional Working Group) that are providing technical expertise on the Louisiana Comprehensive Area (LCA) Ecosystem Study, which will outline a $14 billion plan to preserve the Louisiana ecosystem; the LCA plan will be presented to Congress in 2004. A Louisiana Sand Management Working Group composed of Federal, State, local authorities, academia, and industry has recently been organized to provide advice to us relative to the long-term use of Federal sand offshore Louisiana.

Ongoing Negotiated Lease Activity

We are working with the State of Louisiana and several other Federal Agencies on negotiated agreements to allow the use of the shoal’s sand in various coastal restoration and storm protection efforts. We have also been proactive in evaluating potential environmental impacts associated with the use of the shoal’s material.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is spearheading a large-scale barrier island restoration project which involves the rebuilding of the west flank of Whiskey Island, one of the barrier islands within the Isles Dernieres chain. The project’s preferred offshore borrow site is Ship Shoal Block 88; this will require a negotiated lease agreement between us and the State of Louisiana. We are cooperating with EPA on the required NEPA document. Archaeological, seismic, and benthic biological surveys of Ship Shoal Block 88 will likely take place in the near-term. The project will likely commence in May 2004.

In January 2003, we met with the New Orleans District of the Army Corps to discuss the possible use of 10 million cubic yards of sand from the eastern portion of Ship Shoal to use as a base for a 72-mile levee system to be built outside Houma, Louisiana. The Corps is continuing to do economic analysis regarding various sand sources.

In lieu of using sand from within State waters, the EPA and the State of Louisiana were actively seeking a suitable offshore borrow site to use for the placement of approximately 1,000,000 cubic yards of sand at New Cut, a portion of the Louisiana barrier island system located between Trinity and East Islands. The project is slated to begin in the spring of 2004. We issued a lease to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources on December 20, 2002, allowing a dredge test to take place in Louisiana South Pelto Block 12 on December 26, 2002. The test involved the use of a hopper dredge to extract approximately 2,000 cubic yards of sand to supply information relative to the loading characteristics and “overfill factor” of the sand within South Pelto Block 12; this block lies on the far eastern edge of Ship Shoal. The sand has since been determined to be suitable for use in the New Cut project and EPA and the State are pursuing a negotiated lease with the MMS to use the material.

Completed Projects in Louisiana

A beach restoration project completed in April 2003 is helping to protect the fragile Louisiana wetlands at Holly Beach in Cameron Parish. The project will reverse the area’s rate of shoreline erosion and protect over 10,000 acres of fragile wetlands critical to the sustainability of the communities in the Parish. The beach restoration portion of the project involved the placement of 1.75 million cubic yards of Federal sand on the beach. The sand was placed along five miles of shoreline behind existing breakwaters and effectively extended the existing shoreline so as to create a buffer to better protect Louisiana Highway 82, local coastal communities, and the threatened coastal marsh areas behind the beach.

Last Updated: 04/07/2004, 09:39 AM