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Water Log 29.1, May, 2009

Interesting Items

Around the Gulf

Economic Crisis Impacts Proposal to Preserve Florida’s Everglades
In early April, Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced that a prior proposal to purchase 180,000 acres from the United States Sugar Corporation for $1.75 billion in an effort to preserve the Everglades has been reduce to 72,500 acres in light of economic constraints. The revision, which would cost the state $530 million via a bond issue, is subject to the approval of the South Florida Water Management District and the corporate board of United States Sugar. Many predicted that the original plan would renew the flow of water between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, though the water supply and environmental benefitss of the reduced proposal have drawn only tacit praise. According to the proposal, United States Sugar would continue to farm 40,500 acres for at least seven years at a lease rate of $150/acre per year. The remaining 32,000 would be available to the state for water treatment and storage. The State would retain a ten-year option to match any purchase offer for United States Sugar’s additional 107,500 acres.

Louisiana Seeks to Funnel Sediment from Mississippi River to Restore Coastal Wetlands
Louisiana has lost approximately 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands in the past 80 years. On April 13th, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced a plan to counter wetlands loss associated with coastal storms, sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and the blockage of some flowing sediment by the levee system on the Mississippi River. Jindal favors replacing the Army Corps of Engineers’ annual navigation facilitation practice of dredging a sizable portion of that blocked sediment and discharging it into the Gulf with an innovative $28 million project. In a pilot venture known as the Mississippi River Sediment Delivery System at Bayou Dupont, which is scheduled for completion this summer, the state will transport mud dredged from the bed of the Mississippi River via pipeline into diked coastal areas in the Upper Barataria Basin in Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes to restore eroding coastal wetlands and marshes. The environmental impacts of this proposal have not yet been fully reported to date.

NOAA Announces Upcoming Evaluation of Mississippi’s Coastal Management Program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management announced its intent to evaluate the performance of the Mississippi Coastal Management Program, in accord with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, which requires the continuing review of state coastal program implementation. The evaluation will inquire as to the extent to which Mississippi has met national objectives, adhered to its Coastal Management Program approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the financial assistance funding under the Act. Evaluations ordinarily include site visits, consideration of public comments, and consultations with federal, state, and local agencies. NOAA conducted a site visit the week of March 16-20, which included a public meeting on March 16 at the Department of Marine Resources in Biloxi, MS. Stay tuned to Water Log for any important findings resulting from the evaluation process.

University of Mississippi