The Trump administration says they will speed up the approval of a key coastal restoration project. The agreement would reduce the permitting process for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project from five years to two. Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana spokesperson Jimmy Frederick says it’s a big win.
Frederick says by speeding up the permitting process, they hope they can now ground on the sediment diversion by 2020.
The 1.3 billion dollar project will rebuild the wetlands by returning sediment, fresh water, and nutrients from the Mississippi River into nearby wetlands to build and maintain land in Louisiana’s Barataria Basin that has been lost since the Mississippi river levee system was built. Frederick says the project will punch a hole in the levee system to redirect some of the river flow.
The state intends to pay for much of the project using funds it received from BP after the 2010 oil spill.