The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), on behalf of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, (Applicant/Project Sponsor), is requesting time extensions for all the planned and in-progress target milestone dates on the permitting dashboard for the Applicant’s Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion project. This revised schedule is due to the Applicant’s change in the design of the Applicant’s preferred alternative (APA) from 75,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 50,000 cfs in November 2021. The revised schedule shifts most milestones to the right by approximately 12 months. USACE is also requesting additional time between the publication of the Notice of Availability of the Final EIS and the issuance of the Record of Decision (ROD), based on lessons learned from the preparation and finalization of the DEIS and FEIS and the processing of DA permit and permission requests by the same Applicant for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. In addition, the revised schedule provides sufficient time to complete and achieve compliance with applicable environmental law and regulations, including a 30-day public review of the FEIS and USACE consideration of all public comments, as well as the production of the USACE decision documents, and the execution of the ROD at District and Division levels.
Description:
Target Completion for "Final NLAA/Biological Opinion Issued" is 6 months after all information is received and is contingent upon NMFS receiving sufficient information to complete ESA consultation.
Milestones:
-
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
:
Official Notice of Availability of a Draft EIS published in the Federal Register (FR) beginning both the public comment period and concurrent CAA Section 309 Review (Agency Action)
- Current Target Date: 11/07/2025
This is the date that NMFS receives the Draft Biological Assessment (BA), developed through multiple collaborative iterations with the state and action agency. NMFS performs final review and determines sufficiency of the BA.
This is the date that NMFS anticipates receiving the Final BA with the request for formal consultation from the USACE, after the issuance of the Draft EIS and significantly, following reporting on public comment. Consultation initiation is contingent upon NMFS receiving sufficient information to initiate ESA consultation.
Final NLAA/Biological Opinion Issued. The final completion date is contingent upon NMFS receiving sufficient information to complete ESA consultation.
Final NLAA/Biological Opinion Issued. The final completion date is contingent upon NMFS receiving sufficient information to complete ESA consultation.
PROJECT WEBSITE: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permits/Mid-Breton-Sediment-…
All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
03/28/2028
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED
SECTOR
Water Resources
CATEGORY
Project Category
FAST-41 Covered Projects
LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory
View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies
Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:
Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works
Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Description:
The purpose of the proposed Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion is to reconnect and re-establish the deltaic sediment deposition process between the Mississippi River and the Breton Sound Basin through a large-scale sediment diversion that is consistent with the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. The Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion will deliver sediment, freshwater, and nutrients to Breton Sound Basin in order to create, preserve, restore, and sustain wetlands and counteract the effects of subsidence, sea level rise, recent hurricane events, and the DWH oil spill. The Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion is needed as a long-term resilient, sustainable strategy to reduce land loss rates and sustain and restore wetlands.
Additional information about the project including the Fast-41 Initiation Notice (FIN), the joint permit application submitted by the project sponsor to USACE, public meeting and public comment period information, and other significant documents associated with the environmental review that may be available can be found on this link to the USACE Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion Project Website.
This Permitting Dashboard includes limitations on the types of milestones that are currently available to enter for tracking. The Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion project involves some authorizations/laws unsupported by the Permitting Table displayed at the bottom of this webpage. For improved transparency, USACE is providing this supplemental table to track additional authorizations/laws that may be necessary for completion of the regulatory process:
Additional laws/authorizations for Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion:
|
Responsible Agency |
Environmental Review or Authorization |
Milestone |
Milestone Details (if applicable) |
Target Completion Date |
STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CPRA |
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 |
CPRA begins consultation with NMFS on marine mammal impact minimizing, monitoring, and evaluation. |
Following issuance of the MMPA waiver, the State will begin consultation with NMFS (using existing coordination processes to the extent possible) regarding practicable measures to minimize impacts to marine mammals, and measures to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the MBSD from construction, operation and maintenance. To date, the project sponsor has been in contact with NMFS about Phase I and Phase II marine mammal baseline data/monitoring. |
End Date not provided by CPRA |
TBD |
|
LDOTD |
Permit |
temporary access, alter, or use an existing ROW |
Reviewed at the LDOTD district level.Typical timeframe for review of COMPLETE application is 45 days. |
see Details/Status |
TBD |
|
LDOTD |
Permit |
impacts to construction affecting Louisiana Hwy 23 and for related work within LDOTD ROW |
Reviewed at the LDOTD District and HQ levels.Typical timeframe for review of a COMPLETE application is 90 days. |
see Details/Status |
TBD |
|
LDEQ |
Certification |
Section 401 Water Quality Certification |
Needed prior to issuance of a 10/404 permit decision |
see Details/Status |
TBD |
|
LDNR |
CUP |
Coastal Use Permit |
Currently On-Hold for Federal NEPA process; Needed prior to issuance of a 10/404 permit decision |
see Details/Status |
TBD |
Update:
The Executive Director granted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers request to extend several final completion dates for the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion project to accommodate completion and incorporation of 3-D hydraulic and hydrological modeling . The Executive Director determination is posted here.
The Executive Director granted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers request to extend several final completion dates for the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion project on May 17, 2023 . The Executive Director determination is posted here.
Final NLAA/Biological Opinion Issued. The final completion date is contingent upon NMFS receiving sufficient information to complete ESA consultation.
Final NLAA/Biological Opinion Issued. The final completion date is contingent upon NMFS receiving sufficient information to complete ESA consultation.
Original Target Date: 08/11/2023
Milestone: ESA Consultation Concludes (Agency Action)
Requested extensions greater than 30 days for this Action are shown below:
ESA Consultation Concludes (Agency Action) extended by 678
From: 05/28/2024
To: 06/19/2025