MMS awards grant for Orleans Land Bridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation project
July 25, 2008
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $1.3 million grant to the State of Louisiana through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) for the Orleans Land Bridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation project.
Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS -- The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $1.3 million grant to the State of Louisiana through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) for the Orleans Land Bridge Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation project.
The project will build approximately 50,000 ft (15,240 m) of rock breakwater and restore approximately 220 acres of marsh with dredged material in the Golden Triangle area bounded by the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the western shore of Lake Borgne in Orleans Parish. The project was included in Louisiana's final CIAP plan approved by MMS in November, 2007. This grant is for phase one of the project, which includes pre-construction engineering and design and identification of landrights.
The land bridge forms a barrier between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, which are hydrologically connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Along Lake Borgne between Bayou Bienvenue and Alligator Point, there has been continued loss of shoreline and inland ponds have widened, according to MMS.
