NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A nearly $2 billion plan to divert water and sediment from the Mississippi River to rebuild land in southeastern Louisiana — considered the cornerstone of the state's efforts to protect its rapidly eroding coast — has passed a major milestone with the publication of the long-awaited Army Corps of Engineers environmental impact study.
The report issued late Thursday spells out the potential benefits of the plan projected to build thousands of acres of freshwater marshes on the western side of the Mississippi River that will help knock down storm surge in the New Orleans area to the north. But it will also have damaging effects on the state's important shrimping and oyster industries as well as dolphins and some coastal communities.
The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion will essentially cut a hole into the levee around the town of Ironton, southeast of New Orleans, and channel part of the river's flow into Barataria Bay. As the water moves into the bay, sediment settles and eventually accumulates into land. It's considered the most important project of the state's $50 billion coastal protection plan that details various measures the state is taking to protect a coast that has lost 2,000 square miles (5,200 square kilometers) since 1932.
"This project is a lifeline for coastal Louisiana. ... It is the shot in the arm that our coast needs right now," said Chip Kline, who chairs the agency charged with protecting the state's coast.
The concept has been discussed for decades and essentially tries to recreate nature. Southeastern Louisiana is formed of sediment that washed down the Mississippi River and deposited over thousands of years. But as the river was leveed to protect surrounding communities, the sediment instead washed into the Gulf of Mexico.