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<span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">NOAA
<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/office-habitat-conservation" title="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/office-habitat-conservation">
Office of Habitat Conservation</a>, March 5, 2021</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><u>Summary</u>: The group of agencies charged
with restoring Louisiana’s natural resources after the</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><em style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span> </span>Deepwater
Horizon<span> </span></span></em></span></span></span></span><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">oil
spill is seeking public input on a draft restoration plan. The plan proposes investing up to $2 billion in the Mid-Barataria sediment diversion project. </span></span></span></span></span></span>If approved, the large-scale project would reconnect the Mississippi
River to Louisiana’s Barataria Basin. The project will allow the controlled release of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment back into the basin. This would <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/coastal-wetlands-too-valuable-lose" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 122, 183);">rebuild <span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">wetlands</span></span></a> and
contribute to the broader restoration of its ecosystem. The draft plan is available for public comment for 60 days through May 4, 2021. The plan evaluates six design alternatives for the diversion project and identifies one as the preferred alternative. <span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">NOAA
and the </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://coastal.la.gov/midbarataria/" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 122, 183);"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">Coastal
Protection and Restoration Authority</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"> are
lead Trustees for this draft plan. It was prepared jointly with the other Louisiana Restoration Area Trustees. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">Concurrent
with the draft plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing a </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permits/Mid-Barataria-Sediment-Diversion-EIS/" class="ext" data-extlink="" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 122, 183);"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">draft
environmental impact statement</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box"><span style="box-sizing:border-box">,
also available for public comment for 60 days. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<u>Link to article</u>: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/louisiana-trustees-seek-comments-proposed-mid-barataria-sediment-diversion?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery<br>
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