[StBernard] CWPPRA Newsflash - Corps extends public review period for the draft MRGO ecosystem restoration plan

[Westley Annis]

Corps extends public review period for the draft MRGO ecosystem restoration plan 

Public may offer comments through Mar. 5, 2011

 

NEW ORLEANS, LA – In response to requests made by St. Bernard Parish government, community members and stakeholders, the New Orleans District Commander, COL Edward Fleming has granted an additional extension of the National Environmental Policy Act public review period for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) ecosystem restoration Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Feasibility Report. 

 

The public review period is extended through midnight on Saturday, March 5, 2011. The report outlines the recommended plan for restoring coastal wetlands affected by the MRGO shipping channel. Public comments can be submitted on www.mrgo.gov <http://www.mrgo.gov/>  and by phone, mail, and email. Please contact:

 

Tammy Gilmore
Environmental Manager
Tammy.H.Gilmore at usace.army.mil
(504) 862-1002

US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District C/O Tammy Gilmore, PDR-RS Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Ecosystem Restoration P.O. Box 60267 New Orleans, LA 70160-0267


The report and other documents are available for review and download at www.mrgo.gov <http://www.mrgo.gov/>  or by request. 

 

The recommended MRGO Ecosystem Restoration Plan would benefit the Central Wetlands, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi Sound, and the Biloxi Marsh in St. Bernard Parish.  Features outlined in the plan include creating marsh using dredged material, planting cypress trees and other wetland vegetation, protecting shorelines with breakwaters, creating oyster reefs, and diverting freshwater from the Mississippi River near the community of Violet, LA to reduce salinity and enhance wetlands and fishery productivity.  

 

The plan also includes proposed public access recreation features in Shell Beach, Meraux and the Lower 9th Ward. The coastal restoration plan is a follow-up report to the 2008 deauthorization plan that the Corps implemented to close the MRGO ship channel with a rock barrier at Bayou La Loutre.







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