Office of Coastal Management

COASTAL LOUISIANA RECEIVES OYSTER PROGRAM FUNDS FROM CONGRESS

The state's coastal restoration program will advance a big step forward with a $7.5 million appropriation recently approved by Congress. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Jack Caldwell said that U.S. Congressmen Jimmy Hayes and Billy Tauzin led the pursuit for federal funding to help relocate oyster leases associated with the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion project.

DNR's Coastal Restoration Division will manage the Davis Pond project located in St. Charles parish as it progresses into construction and operational phases. Secretary Caldwell said that some 8,000 acres of oyster leases are located in the project area and now with federal assistance the state can offset the adverse impacts on active and productive oyster beds by moving them away from the freshwater. He added that freshwater diversion from the Mississippi River is the major means of preserving and restoring Louisiana's coastal areas. "Nearly 80,000 acres of deteriorating marshlands will be restored from this project," Caldwell said.

The oyster relocation funding was approved in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1996 and is headed to the president for signing. "The legislative strategies for the coastal program were also pushed by Congressman Richard Baker together with Senator John Breaux and Governor Mike Foster," Caldwell noted.

Additionally, under another provision in the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA), the state can reduce its share of the cost of coastal wetlands projects from 25 percent to 10 percent for the calendar years 1996 and 1997 provided the state completes its conservation plan. To assure the 10 percent state match, Louisiana must receive federal approval of a regulatory plan to protect against any loss of wetlands due to development. Coastal Restoration Division administrator Bill Good said that the conservation plan is nearing completion, anticipating the plan to be finished within the next six months. Good said input from the public on the conservation plan by means of public wetlands workshops are scheduled to begin this month at various locations throughout the state.

Secretary Caldwell lauded the swift and concentrated efforts of Governor Foster, the Louisiana Legislature, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, members of the state's Oyster Mitigation Committee, and Louisiana's congressional delegation for the tremendous boost in the coastal program, particularly over a year's time.

Editors: For more information on this topic, please contact the DNR Public Information Office at (504) 342-8955 or Coastal Restoration Division administrator Bill Good at (504) 342-7308.