LA OKs $2B+ Mid-Barataria project

On Feb. 1, the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group approved $2.26B in funding for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project. The Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority (CPRA) will use the funding to construct a large-scale sediment diversion to reconnect the Mississippi River to Louisiana's Barataria Basin estuary. The project is one of the largest and most innovative coastal habitat restoration efforts ever undertaken. It is intended to re-establish historic delta land-building processes by allowing for the controlled release of freshwater, sediment and nutrients from the Mississippi River into the Barataria Basin estuary. The project will support ecosystem-scale restoration of the estuary and its wetlands. The funding decision is the final step in the Louisiana Trustees’ evaluation of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion under the Oil Pollution Act. This is the culmination of six years of work focused on the Barataria Basin that began in May of 2017. Learn more about the project and access documents at the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group's latest Gulf Spill Restoration news update >>