Deepwater Horizon

NRDA Update

December 15, 2010

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast

• TC Meetings• Mobile, AL – December 1-2

• TC MOU• Advance funding and reimbursement from BP• Restoration project submittal website for DWH NRDA

• Austin, TX – January 12-13• TWG update• Science subgroup to meet on SAV and Shoreline workplans

• Executive Council• High level state and federal representatives continue to negotiate a down-payment ask to BP for early restoration projects

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast

Trustee Council and

Executive Council

Emergency Restoration• Three projects submitted to BP by Trustee Council for

emergency restoration to prevent additional injury (not primary/compensatory restoration)– Shoreline re-vegetation project (BP approved recon)

• Dunes• Marshy shoreline

– Submerged aquatic vegetation injured by response actions (BP approved recon)

– Migratory bird habitat –implementation approved by BP

• Sea turtle project under consideration by TC for submission to BP

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast

• Continue to meet monthly with parish presidents

• State standing up strike teams to be on call to perform reconnaissance in response to reports of new oiling by parishes as response SCAT teams stand down

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast

Parish Coordination

Public Outreach• October

– Thibodaux, Harahan, New Iberia, Chalmette

• November– New Orleans at Tulane University

• NOAA intends to conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Deepwater Horizon NRDA– Likely to begin informal scoping meetings in early 2011 with

stakeholders– Gulf Coast states and DOI invited to participate as a cooperating

agency; LA negotiating for a more involved role– Intended to complement La’s existing PEIS for the Regional Restoration

Planning Program (www.losco.state.la.us/ps_rrpprogram.htm)

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast

Oyster Sampling Update

Transition plan focuses on known oyster habitat

60 sites in LA; 10 in MS• Dredge surveys – live oysters analyzed for contaminant

burden and gonad/disease conditions• Sediment samples• Larval samples• Recruitment samples

Sampling should be completed in early 2011

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast

Side Scan Sonar

• NRDA– Used in early NRDA mapping of historic public ground reef areas– Time-delay and cost necessitated a change to traditional poling

method

• Public Oyster Seed Ground Management– Black Bay area complete; Breton Sound area underway– Will greatly assist in planning restoration projects

• Private Lease Areas– Impractical to side-scan all leases– Possibility to “spot-check” randomly-chosen lease areas– Need industry input as to usefulness of data for industry

restoring and protecting Louisiana’s coast