The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $10.6 million grant to the State of Louisiana through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) for the Grand Lake Shoreline Protection project.
The grant will be used to construct approximately 37,800 linear feet of rock breakwater to halt erosion on the south shore of Grand Lake, located in the Mermentau Basin in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The breakwater will be between the mouth of Superior Canal on the east and Tebo Point on the west, approximately 35 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
'MMS is proud to partner with Louisiana’s in its coastal restoration efforts,' said MMS Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. 'Through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, MMS is able to support our state partners with coastal restoration projects like the Grand Lake Shoreline Protection project.'
Shoreline erosion rates in the Grand Lake area can be as high as 32 feet per year. However, this project should halt shoreline retreat and its adverse impacts on adjacent fresh marsh. The MMS grant is for final engineering and construction of the Grand Lake project, which is scheduled to be completed in about a year.
'Providing better protection to the people and the wetlands in Southwest Louisiana is a top priority,' said Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves. 'We have indentified key projects like this one in Grand Lake and others across Coastal Louisiana that will be constructed using CIAP funds, and we will work tirelessly to put these funds to use as quickly as possible.'
This project was included in Louisiana’s final CIAP plan approved by MMS in November, 2007. The Grand Lake Shoreline Protection Project is one of many onshore coastal restoration projects that the CIAP has funded for the purpose of conservation, protection, and restoration of Louisiana coastal areas and wetlands.
The CIAP was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and provides $250 million annually, from 2007-2010, to six eligible Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states – Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, California, Mississippi, and Texas. The funding to Louisiana included $127.5 million for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008. Nineteen Coastal Political Subdivisions (parishes) share in the funding of projects outlined in the state’s approved plan.
Contact:
Nicholas Pardi (202) 208-3985