For Immediate Release: May 3, 2010
Contact: Chris Macaluso
(225) 342-3972
chris.macaluso@la.gov
REMINDER: Belle Chasse Middle Students to Plant Marsh Grass at Plaquemines Parish Coastal Restoration Site Tuesday, May 4.
More than 80 students, teachers and chaperones from Belle Chasse Middle have volunteered to plant native grasses on Tuesday, May 4 at 9 a.m. as part of the vegetative planting phase of the recently-completed Mississippi River Sediment Delivery System at Bayou Dupont marsh creation project.
The Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration is partnering with ConocoPhillips, the LSU AgCenter's Youth Wetland Program, The Environmental Protection Agency, and River Rest LLC.
Four thousand smooth cordgrass and paspalum plants will be planted by the students and other volunteers throughout the morning. The project site is located at the end of Ravenna Road just south of the ConocoPhillips Alliance Refinery on Hwy. 23 South in Plaquemines Parish.
The Mississippi River Sediment Delivery System at Bayou Dupont project is a first of its kind effort to rebuild coastal marshes eroded due to subsidence and saltwater intrusion using sediment mined from the Mississippi River specifically for coastal restoration efforts. Sediment dredged from the river was pumped through more than five miles pipeline to the restoration site located in western Plaquemines and eastern Jefferson Parish. It created more than 500 acres of coastal wetland in an area that was largely open water before construction. Sediment pumping began in fall of 2009 and concluded in late March of this year.
The project was built in large part by the Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) at a cost of $20.7 million, with the EPA serving as the federal sponsor and the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration serving as the state agency. An additional 87 acres were constructed using approximately $3 million in funds provided by NOAA through the American Recovery and Re-investment Act and approximately 1.5 million in surplus CWPPRA construction funds.
ConocoPhillips and River Rest LLC made construction possible by allowing access to the project site through private land.
Media members interested in covering the event are asked to contact Chris Macaluso with the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration at (225) 342-3972 or by email at chris.macaluso@la.gov.
For more information about Louisiana's coastal restoration and hurricane protection efforts, please contact Chris Macaluso at (225) 342-3972 or by e-mail at chris.macaluso@la.gov
--30--
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's mandate is to develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive coastal protection and restoration master plan. For the first time in Louisiana's history, this single state authority will integrate coastal restoration and hurricane protection by marshaling the expertise and resources of the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration and other state agencies, to speak with one clear voice for the future of Louisiana's coast. Working with federal, state and local political subdivisions, including levee districts, the CPRA will work to establish a safe and sustainable coast that will protect our communities, the nation's critical energy infrastructure, and our bountiful natural resources for generations to come. The CPRA of Louisiana was established by Act 8 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of 2005.
