Office of Coastal Management

DNR progressing with plan for coastal impact assistance funding

Louisiana and six other oil-producing coastal states will share in a $150 million Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) with funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce as a one-time appropriation from Congress, state coastal officials announced today.

State Department of Natural Resources Secretary Jack Caldwell said the department is working on a July 1st deadline for the state's CIAP plan to be approved by Governor Foster and submitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal agency tasked with administering the program.

He said total funding for Louisiana will be $26.4 million. Caldwell noted that the coastal impact assistance program legislation allocates funds to eligible states and coastal political subdivisions according to a formula based on revenues from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leases, shoreline mileage, population of coastal communities, and distance from coastal communities to offshore leased tracts.

He said Congress authorized the program recognizing for the first time that environmental impacts from OCS oil and gas activities fall disproportionately on coastal states and localities nearest to where oil and gas activities take place. Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi will receive the largest federal allocations. Alabama, Alaska, California, and Florida will also receive CIAP funding.

Secretary Caldwell said DNR began notifying other state agencies and coastal parishes of the guidelines for the program in February. He said project proposals and applications are now being accepted through May 11th . Proposals will be studied and selected for inclusion in a state plan that meets requirements of the OCS Lands Act legislation and NOAA

Caldwell anticipates a big response from local entities now that DNR has received notice of the amount of funding available to the parishes. "There's no doubt there will be broad participation in this program based on the wide range of projects allowed in the guidelines. The funds may be limited but we hope to get as much done in coastal impacted areas as we can," Caldwell said.

Here is a table showing the funding allocations for the nineteen parishes identified in the coastal impact assistance program:

DNR will schedule public meetings in June in Lafayette, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge for public review and comment on the program although specific locations have not yet been decided.

"In applying for funding, all agencies and coastal parishes must select an appropriate category representing the type of project to be considered under CIAP guidelines. Secondly,(applicants must document environmental impacts as well as show justification for the design and cost of the project," explained the department's CIAP coordinator Gerry Duszynski.

Duszynski worked with NOAA's National Ocean Service to make available all program guidelines and information on the Internet at www.savelawetlands.com 
Additional CIAP information can be obtained by contacting, DNR Office of Coastal Restoration and Management Deputy Assistant Secretary Gerry Duszynski at 225-342-3583.

NOAA's guidelines are as follows:

1. Uses set forth in section 32(c)(4) of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act proposed by the amendment to H.R. 701 of the 106th Congress as reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

A. Activities which support and are consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act including National Estuarine Research Reserve programs, the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the Magnuson?Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or the National Estuaries Program.

B. Conservation, restoration, enhancement or protection of coastal or marine habitats including wetlands, estuaries, coastal barrier islands, coastal fishery resources and coral reefs, including projects to remove abandoned vessels or marine debris that may adversely affect coastal habitats.

C. Protection, restoration and enhancement of coastal water quality consistent with the provisions of the Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), including the reduction or monitoring of coastal polluted runoff or other coastal contaminants.

D. Addressing watershed protection or other coastal or marine conservation needs which cross jurisdictional boundaries.

E. Assessment, research, mapping and monitoring of coastal or marine resources and habitats, including, where appropriate, the establishment and monitoring of marine protected areas.

F. Addressing coastal conservation needs associated with seasonal or otherwise transient fluctuations in coastal populations.

G. Protection and restoration of natural coastline protective features, including control of coastline erosion.

H. Identification, prevention and control of invasive, exotic and harmful non?indigenous species.

I. Assistance to local communities to assess, plan for and manage the impacts of growth and development on coastal or marine habitats and natural resources, including coastal community fishery assistance programs that encourage participation in sustainable fisheries.

J. Projects that promote research, education, training and advisory services in fields related to coastal living marine resource use and management.

2. Projects and activities for the conservation, protection or restoration of wetlands.

3. Mitigating damage to fish, wildlife or natural resources, including such activities authorized under subtitle B of
title IV or the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (oil spill removal and contingency planning).

4. Planning assistance and administration costs of complying with the provisions of this section.

5. Implementation of federally approved marine, coastal, or comprehensive conservation management plans.

6. Onshore infrastructure projects and other public service needs intended to mitigate the environmental effects of OCS activities.

Editors: For more on this topic, please contact DNR Public Information Officer Phyllis Darensbourg at 225-342-8955.