Notice of Intent to Draft Restoration Plan in Louisiana.
The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group is beginning the process of drafting what will be called the “Phase 2 Large-scale Barataria Marsh Creation: Upper Barataria Component Restoration Plan #3.3,” a restoration plan focused on restoring and conserving Barataria Basin wetlands injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The wetlands in the Barataria Basin experienced some of the heaviest and most persistent oiling and associated response activities from the oil spill, and they are eroding at high rates. The Phase 2 Restoration Plan #3.3 will identify and evaluate a range of design alternatives for a large-scale marsh creation project to build wetlands and help address these injuries.
We expect to release a draft of the plan and associated environmental analyses in 2020. The public will be given the opportunity to review and provide input on the draft plan, including any specific designs proposed for construction. After the public comment period ends, we will review, consider, and incorporate public comments, as appropriate, before releasing a final restoration plan.
This plan tiers from the Final Strategic Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #3 (PDF, 167 pages) for the Barataria Basin, the first phase of this effort released in March 2018. That strategic plan selected the Large-Scale Barataria Marsh Creation project to be carried forward for further evaluation and planning in Phase 2.
Development of the Phase 2 Restoration Plan will be consistent with the Trustees’ Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan, the Oil Pollution Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, their implementing regulations, and all applicable Federal and Louisiana laws.