Restoration Projects:
From Vision to Reality

Over the last 14 years, the process of selecting and implementing coastal projects has been revised to make it more efficient, cost-effective, and rigorous. Only those projects that show a strong chance of having a significant effect on the wetlands make it to the annual Priority Project List. Currently, the following steps typically lead to a project getting selected for the list.

1. Planning Teams of parish and local officials, and stakeholders from each of the coast’s four regions hold public meetings and select one potential project per drainage basin, except for the Terrebonne and Barataria basins, which may have two on account of extreme losses in those areas. No more than 11 make the nomination list. One of the five federal agencies is designated the lead agency for each nominated project, responsible for defining potential designs and benefits, and assisting in preparing fact sheets and maps.
   
   Informal conferences between lead agencies, parishes, landowners, and other individuals are held. The lead agency develops a brief project description, and the Engineering and Environmental workgroups study potential benefits and estimated costs. The Technical Committee selects six projects for detailed assessment by the Engineering, Environmental, and Economic workgroups.
2. The Environmental and Engineering workgroups and the Academic Advisory Group refine project features and establish area boundaries.
3. The lead agency completes an Information Sheet, a preliminary Wetland Value Assessment and preliminary cost estimate.
4. Using the Wetland Value Assessment and design and cost estimates, the Environmental and Engineering workgroups evaluate the benefits and costs of the potential projects and develop prioritization scores.
5. The Technical Committee holds two public hearings to present information and solicit comments.
6. The Technical Committee selects up to four projects to recommend to the Task Force for inclusion on the annual Priority Project List.
7. The Task Force selects up to four projects for the annual Priority Project List.

Project Implementation

Once a project makes the Priority Project List and receives funding, the actual work begins. Each project moves through the phases of planning and construction as it becomes part of the restoration network to save coastal Louisiana.

Phase 1
Engineering and Design

This phase produces detailed plans necessary for construction:

• engineering and design, including surveys, geotechnical evaluations, hydraulic and hydrological investigations, and modeling
• real estate requirements, including land and oyster-lease ownership investigations
• environmental compliance and a preliminary cultural resources assessment
• permitting
• project management plan
• monitoring plan
• plans for operation, maintenance and replacement

Phase 2
Construction and Monitoring

If the project passes its final design review and is selected by the Task Force for Phase 2 approval, bids for construction are sought and a contract is awarded. The construction phase requires effective project management to oversee the specifications of the contract. During and after construction, the local ecosystems are monitored for changes due to project operations. The project is operated as planned with maintenance, performance monitoring and repairs taking place over the 20-year project life.

Demonstration Projects

Demonstration projects are designed to be practical evaluations of new technologies not commonly used in coastal Louisiana. They are not tied to the usual planning criteria, nor are they expected to have a project life of 20 years as other projects do. Their lifespan continues only until the new technology is sufficiently evaluated.

A good example of a recent demonstration project is the Mandalay Bank Protection Demonstration, sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This project was constructed just west of Houma in Terrebonne Parish, along the banks of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). The wakes of vessels cause erosion of the banks, forming bay-like areas along the waterway. The project is intended to develop new low-cost techniques for protecting and restoring the easily erodible organic soils. Intact banks and breakthroughs have been treated to determine the cost effectiveness of various approaches.