[StBernard] 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

Environmental Issues - March 1, 2011

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 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 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.