June 19, 2000

Wetland Restoration and Creation in the Barataria Basin, Louisiana

A Component of the Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration, Barrier Island  Restoration, Marsh Creation, and River Diversion, Barataria Basin Feasibility Study.

Scoping Process 

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provides for an early and open public process for determining the scope of issues, resources, impacts, and alternatives to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This process is referred to as the Scoping Process. The purpose of this document is to announce a scoping meeting for Wetland Restoration and Creation in the Barataria Basin, Louisiana, a component of the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana--Ecosystem Restoration, Barrier Island Restoration, Marsh Creation, and River Diversion, Barataria Basin Feasibility Study. Ideas and issues brought forth during the scoping process can be incorporated into the EIS preparation.

Study Authority

This study is authorized through Resolutions of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Public Works, 19 October 1967 and 19 April 1967. 

Study Purpose 

The proposed action is an initial effort for coastal restoration under the existing authority for the LCA Feasibility Study and will evaluate two of the coastal restoration strategies described in the December 1998 document entitled "Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana" (Coast 2050 Plan). The proposed action is one of three separate actions to be initially considered under the LCA Feasibility Study. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, in a joint partnership with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, proposes to investigate the feasibility of restoring and creating wetlands in the southwestern portion of the Barataria Basin, Louisiana. In general, the overall purpose of the Coast 2050 Plan is to sustain a coastal ecosystem that supports and protects the environment, economy, and culture of southern Louisiana, and contributes greatly to the economy and well being of the nation. The purpose of the Coast 2050 strategies for the Barataria Basin is to restore and/or protect the natural and human environment to create a sustainable ecosystem in the Barataria Basin within the context of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including coastal Louisiana. The purpose of the proposed action, wetland restoration and creation strategies R2-16 and R2-17 of the Coast 2050 Plan for the Barataria Basin, is to restore and create wetlands in the western Barataria Basin so as to protect and sustain the ecological functions, the natural distributary ridges, and the local human infrastructure of the area. 

Study Area 

The proposed action area is located within the Barataria Basin of southeastern Louisiana in Lafourche Parish (see Figure 1). The proposed action area is bounded on the north by the West Fork Bayou L'Ours, on the west by Bayou Lafourche and Louisiana State Highway 1, on the south by Louisiana State Highway 1, and on the east by the Lafourche Parish and Jefferson Parish boundary. The study area is experiencing wetland loss at the rate of approximately 11 square miles per year. Wetland loss within the Barataria Basin is attributed to the combination of natural erosional processes of sea-level rise, subsidence, herbivory, and to the human activities of levee construction, channelization, and development. Freshwater and sediment input into the Barataria Basin was virtually eliminated by the flood protection levees constructed along the Mississippi River and the closure of Bayou Lafourche at Donaldsonville. The only significant source of fresh water in the basin is rainfall. There is some freshwater input into the basin by the siphons located at Naomi and at West Pointe a la Hache (each siphon has a maximum output of about 2,000 cubic feet per second). When Davis Pond becomes operational in April 2001, it could potentially divert up to 10,650 cubic feet per second dependent upon the salinity conditions in the basin. However, it is predicted that the sediment-laden waters will collect in the ponding area about two miles from the Davis Pond structure located at U.S. Highway 90 and Lake Catouatche. Little, if any, of this sediment would likely directly impact the proposed action area. 

Need for the Study. 

The proposed action focuses on wetland restoration and creation in the Barataria Basin ecosystem due to the very high rate of wetland loss, estimated at about 11 square miles per year, throughout the basin. 

The proposed action also provides additional advantages: 

1. The proposed action potentially provides a low risk and quickly implementable plan to address wetland loss in the Barataria Basin. 
2. The proposed action study area is strategically placed and could potentially yield benefits to other coastal resources within the unique Barataria Basin ecosystem, geologic framework, and the human environment infrastructure associated with transportation, oil and gas extraction, utilities, etc. 
3. The proposed action could also provide additional benefits in terms of protection of important landscape structural features that function as important hydrological features within the Barataria Basin.
4. The proposed action could be implemented independently of the remaining Coast 2050 Plan strategies for the Barataria Basin.

Study Alternatives

During the Coast 2050 public meetings conducted in 1998, two marsh creation strategies, Strategy R2-16-- Dedicated Dredging Along Louisiana Highway 1, and Strategy R2-17-- Dedicated Dredging near Caminada Bay were considered as viable ecosystem restoration strategies. Hence, these strategies will be developed into alternatives for the proposed action. Other alternatives that will be considered include: the No Action Alternative, filling, marsh replenishing, terracing, and the beneficial use of dredged material from maintenance dredging of navigation channels. In addition, alternatives developed during the scoping process will also be developed and considered. An EIS will be prepared during the feasibility phase because of the potential for significant direct and indirect, secondary, and cumulative impacts on the human and natural environment.

An intensive public involvement program will be initiated and maintained throughout the study to solicit input from affected Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and interested private organizations and individuals. Scoping is a critical component of the overall public involvement program. The scoping process is designed to provide an early and open means of determining the scope of issues (e.g., problems, needs, and opportunities) to be identified and addressed in the EIS.

Resources/Issues to be addressed in the EIS

A tentative list of significant resources to be evaluated in the EIS includes elements of the natural environment, such as plants and animals, natural waterways, and waterbodies; elements of the man-made environment such as water quality, drainage patterns, floodplains, air quality, noise, regulated hazardous wastes, socioeconomic, and transportation; as well as historic and cultural resources. 

Public Action Requested

A scoping meeting will be held on June 20, 2000 beginning at 7:00 PM in the Student Union Ballroom/Acadia Hall, of the Nicholls State University, located at the Nicholls State University Campus, Thibodaux, Louisiana, 70301 (see Figure 2). The scoping meeting will begin with a brief description of the EIS process, the Corps study process, and the study alternatives. Scoping meeting participants will then be divided into smaller groups in which a facilitator for each group will record the participants' answers to the following questions:

Question #1. What are the most important issues, resources, and impacts that we should consider in the EIS? 

Question #2. Are there any other alternatives or modifications to existing alternatives that we should consider in the EIS?

Scoping meeting participants, and other interested parties, are requested to provide answers to the two questions as well as other areas of concern to them. Comments will be summarized and described in a "Scoping Document" that will be made available to interested parties. In addition to comments made at the scoping meeting, written comments will be accepted by letters postmarked no later than 30 days from the date of the meeting. 

For Further Information

Interested parties are encouraged to express their concerns at any time during the study process. Please bring this Scoping Notice to the attention of parties known to have interest in water resources related problems in the study area. 

Questions regarding the EIS should be addressed to Dr. William P. Klein, Jr., CEMVN-PM-RS, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267, telephone: 504 862-2540, fax: 504-862-2572; or e-mail: william.p.klein.jr@mvn02.usace.army.mil 

Questions regarding the proposed study should be addressed to the Study Manager Mr. Edmond J. Russo, Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning, Programs and Project Management Division, CEMVN-C, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, LA 70160-0267, telephone: 504-862-1496; fax: 504-862-2572; or e-mail: edmond.j.russo@mvn02.usace.army.mil