The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group has approved its first restoration plan to address natural resource injuries from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The plan is consistent with the Trustees’ programmatic restoration plan. This restoration plan covers engineering and design activities for six 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; and
- birds.
The total estimated cost for the engineering and design activities for these projects is $22.3 million. Once the engineering and design phase is complete, we will consider these projects for construction. If selected, project construction will be addressed in a subsequent restoration plan, which will be provided to the public for review and comment.
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 to include in the draft restoration plan. The draft plan was put out for public review and comment, and we held a public meeting on November 30. The comment period closed on December 9. The final restoration plan reflects revisions to the draft plan resulting from public comments and continuing Trustee project development.