The Corps and the federal cooperating agencies, along with CPRA (the applicant), have been working diligently to prepare the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for CPRA’s proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion (MBSD) Project. The MBSD is a large and complex project. The proposed project would discharge up to 75,000 cfs of sediment, freshwater, and nutrients within the Barataria Basin. The total cost is estimated at more than $1 billion and faces many environmental and engineering challenges due to the potential projected impacts to the Barataria Basin. In addition to the Corps’ federal actions, this EIS will be used to inform funding decisions that the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG) may make regarding restoration planning in the Barataria Basin under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA).
On March 5, 2021, the Corps, as lead federal agency for the NEPA process, released the draft EIS for 60-day public review. Public requests to extend the public review timeframe due to document length, complexity, and the regional significance of the proposed project resulted in the Corps extending the draft EIS public review period an additional 30 days. At the conclusion of the public review period, the Corps received over 43,000 comments on the draft EIS. The Corps has been working diligently with the CPRA and federal cooperating agencies to respond to public comments and advance preparation of the FEIS. Furthermore, in January of 2022, CPRA notified the Corps for the need to conduct additional Section 106 site investigations at the proposed MBSD Project location. As of 18 May 2022, CPRA has completed the site investigations and provided the Phase II Cultural Investigations Report to the Corps for review. The Corps is currently reviewing the Phase II report. The Phase II report and Corps eligibility determination letter is scheduled to be provided to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and consulting agencies no later than June 13, 2022. Per procedures in 36 CFR 800.3 and 33 CFR 325 Appendix C, the SHPO has 30 days to review the report and respond to the eligibility determination. Though our ongoing Section 106 coordination efforts, we have agreed that the Final EIS cannot be prepared and released until SHPO, and consulting parties complete their review of the report, and the findings are incorporated into the Final EIS. As a result, the EIS cannot be released until that is completed.
The Corps coordinated with the cooperating agencies and CPRA to determine a new target date for the FEIS. As lead federal agency, the Corps is requesting a 3-month extension to complete the FEIS (i.e., extending the June 24, 2022, FEIS target date to September 23, 2022). CPRA and the cooperating agencies are aware of this new proposed target date.
The FEIS target date extension would require an extension to the target dates for the Record of Decision (ROD), FWCA, and Section 106 actions. Additionally, the information being developed for the FEIS, and ROD is required for completion of the final milestones associated with the Corps 10/404 permit and 408 permission decisions. The final milestones for the ROD, 10/404, 408, 106 and FWCA actions were previously scheduled to occur 90 days after the notice of availability of the FEIS. Given the public’s robust response to the draft EIS, the Corps, CPRA, and cooperating agencies are anticipating substantial public input on the FEIS. As such, the Corps wishes to maintain the 90-day period following the completion of the FEIS for the ROD, 106 action, FWCA action, 10/404 permit decision, and 408 permission. The 90 days would allow the Corps and cooperating agencies the time needed to adequately assess the expected large volume of public comments on the FEIS, which is a necessary step prior to finalizing the ROD and completing the 106 process, FWCA process, and the 10/404 permit and 408 permission decisions. The 90-day timeframe also allows for necessary coordination between Corps MVN and MVD leading up to the 10/404 permit decision, and 408 permission. As a result, the final milestone target dates associated with all these actions will also need to be extended accordingly, thus ROD completion target date to December 23, 2022. All the proposed changes to the permitting timetable were developed through extensive coordination with CPRA and the cooperating agencies.
Additional questions
(1) List the agencies with which you coordinated. Response: EPA, DOI, FWS, NOAA, NMFS, NRCS, USDA, as well as the applicant, CPRA.
(2) Confirm whether or not the project sponsor was consulted in creating the new target completion date. Yes
(3) Does the date change affect any other aspects of the permitting timetable? If so, did you coordinate with the affected agencies? Response: The date changes affect all of the pending milestone dates in the permitting timetable, including final target dates in the EIS action, 404/10 permit action, 408 permission action, 106 action, and the FWCA action. These changes were coordinated with the Project Sponsor and all cooperating agencies (EPA, DOI, FWS, NOAA, NMFS, NRCS, USDA, and USGS).
(4) Have any issues related to this date change been documented in the project's CPP or discussed at the project-specific CERPO meeting? Response: The date changes have been made in the permitting timetable in draft form, which is linked in the CPP. The date changes have been shared with and concurred on by the USACE CERPO.
(5) Is there any opportunity for the permitting timetable to be adjusted to make up for the time lost as a result of this delay? Response: No. The delays are significant enough to not be resolved by alternative adjustments geared towards making up for the time lost as a result of this delay.
(6) Has your agency CERPO and/or the lead agency CERPO for the project been made aware of the delay and the possible effect it may have on the project? Response: Yes, our agency CERPO, which is the lead agency CERPO, has been made aware of the delays and their effects on the project schedule. Our CERPO has reviewed the revised schedule and concurs with the changes.
Louisiana
Milestones:
-
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
:
Official Notice of Availability of a Final EIS published in the FR beginning both the public review period and concurrent CAA Section 309 Review (Agency Action)
- Completed Date: 09/23/2022
-
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
:
Official Notice of Availability of a Final EIS published in the FR beginning both the public review period and concurrent CAA Section 309 Review (Agency Action)
- Completed Date: 09/23/2022
PROJECT WEBSITE: Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion EIS
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
12/19/2022
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 Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works
Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Description:
CURRENT STATUS:
The project status for MBSD is now "In Progress"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
On June 22, 2016, CPRA submitted a joint permit application which included a brief project description:
"The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is a large scale, complex civil works and ecosystem restoration project. When operated, up to 75,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) of sediment laden water would be diverted from the Mississippi River to the mid-Barataria Basin to reconnect and re-establish the natural or deltaic sediment deposition process between the Mississippi River and the Barataria Basin to deliver sediment, freshwater, and nutrients to reduce land loss and sustain wetlands."
The proposed MBSD project has the potential for significant impacts and requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Envrionmental Policy Act (NEPA) to inform a permit decision relative to the lead federal agency under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Section 404) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (Section 10), and permissions under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (Section 408) The USACE-MVN Regulatory permit processing number is MVN-2012-2806-E00.
Links to Project Information
Link to the MBSD Scoping Report (Jan 2018): here
Link to the 11 September 2017 Federal MOU for the MBSD permitting process: here
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, can be found on this link to the USACE Mid-Barataria Project Website.
This Permitting Dashboard includes limitations on the types of milestones that are currently available to enter for tracking. The MBSD 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:
| Agency | Action | Milestone Detail | Details/Status | Milestone Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| LDEQ | Certification | Section 401 Water Quality Certification | Needed prior to issuance of a 10/404 permit decision | See Details/Status |
| 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 |
Update:
The Executive Director granted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers request to extend the Fish and Wildlife Service "Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Review" completion date because the previous completion date was entered in error. The Executive Director determination is posted here.
The Executive Director granted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers request to extend Environmental Impact Statement, Section 106 Review, and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act completion dates. The Executive Director determination is posted here.
-
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
:
Official Notice of Availability of a Final EIS published in the FR beginning both the public review period and concurrent CAA Section 309 Review (Agency Action)
- Completed Date: 09/23/2022
-
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
:
Official Notice of Availability of a Final EIS published in the FR beginning both the public review period and concurrent CAA Section 309 Review (Agency Action)
- Completed Date: 09/23/2022
Original Target Date: 07/23/2021
Milestone: Section 106 consultation concluded
Requested extensions greater than 30 days for this Action are shown below:
Section 106 consultation concluded extended by 518
From: 12/23/2022
To: 12/23/2022