Restoring barrier habitat in Louisiana to compensate for natural resource injuries: Shell Island and Chenier Ronquille Barrier Restoration Projects

Coastal Louisiana received significant funds tied to BP penalties as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident. As it is widely considered that the State of Louisiana sustained most of the damage due to this incident, there has been a firm push to waste no time in implementing habitat restoration projects. Sustaining the land on the coast of Louisiana is vital to our nation’s economy, as several of the nation’s largest ports are located on the Gulf coast in Louisiana. In addition, the ecosystems making up the Louisiana coast are important to sustain some of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the nation. Funded by BP Phase 3 Early Restoration, the goals of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Outer Coast Restoration Project are to restore beach, dune, and marsh habitats to help compensate spill-related injuries to habitats and species, specifically brown pelicans, terns, skimmers, and gulls. Four island components in Louisiana were funded under this project; Shell Island Barrier Restoration, Chenier Ronquille Barrier Island Restoration, Caillou Lake Headlands Barrier Island Restoration, and North Breton Island Restoration (https://www. gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/louisiana-outer-coast-restoration, NOAA 2018). Shell Island and Chenier Ronquille are critical pieces of barrier shoreline within the Barataria Basin in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. These large-scale restoration projects were completed in the years following the Deepwater Horizon incident, creating new habitat and reinforcing Louisiana’s Gulf of Mexico shoreline. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) finished construction of the Shell Island NRDA Restoration Project in 2017, which restored two barrier islands in Plaquemines Parish utilizing sand hydraulically dredged from the Mississippi River and pumped via pipeline over 20 miles over levees and through towns, marinas, and marshes to the coastline. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also completed the Plaquemines Parish barrier island restoration at Chenier Ronquille in 2017 utilizing nearshore Gulf of Mexico sediment, restoring wetland, coastal, and nearshore habitat in the Barataria Basin. A design and construction overview is provided herein.

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Turning a tragedy into large-scale barrier island restoration in Louisiana: A three-project case study

Shore & Beach ◽

10.34237/1008818 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 58-64

Author(s):

Steve Dartez ◽

Brett Borne ◽

Michael Poff

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Average Density ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Environmental Benefit ◽

Outer Continental Shelf ◽

Dune System ◽

Island Restoration ◽

Dune Restoration

Louisiana has successfully utilized the proceeds from the fines imposed for the Deepwater Horizon incident to significantly jump start barrier island restoration as identified in the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) of Louisiana Coastal Master Plan (CPRA 2017). The Riverine Sand Mining/ Scofield Island Restoration (BA-40) project was the first to be implemented through a commitment of remaining funds in the initial emergency protective berms’ construction budget formulated into the Berms to Barrier Islands plan. The berm/ restoration conversion at Scofield Island was the first to utilize this funding mechanism. The Caminada Headland Beach and Dune Restoration–Increment II (BA-143) project was funded through the National Fish and Wildlife (NFWF) Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund and capitalized on a prior project constructed to the west completing the beach and dune restoration of the entire headland. Lastly, the Caillou Lake Headlands Restoration (TE-100) project was funded through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). The TE-100 project restored the entire degraded beach and dune system backed by a created marsh habitat to complement a prior restoration effort. Scofield Island is located west of the active Mississippi River bird’s foot delta in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. A primary objective of this project was the excavation and delivery of Mississippi riverine sand for beach and dune restoration; a first in our nation’s history. Multiple design and construction challenges arose requiring the CPRA, consulting team, and construction contractor to adapt. Construction of the beach and dune component of this project required approximately 22 miles (mi) of pipeline and four booster pumps along a sediment pipeline corridor that crossed two hurricane protection levees, went underneath two highways and a navigation channel, traversed the Empire Waterway, crossed Pelican Island, entered the Gulf of Mexico, and extended to Scofield Island. The restoration footprint length was approximately 2.4 mi, total volume placed was approximately 3.5 million cubic yards (MCY), and the benefit equaled 510 restored acres (CEC 2014). The pipeline corridor has subsequently been utilized for two other restoration projects, Shell Island East Berm Barrier Island Restoration (BA-110) and Shell Island West NRDA Restoration (BA-111). As a first in Louisiana’s restoration history, the Caminada Headland Beach and Dune Restoration–Increments I and II (BA-45 and BA-143) utilized sand dredged from Ship Shoal, an Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand resource located approximately 26-38 mi from the restoration areas. The 13.3 mi long headland was restored with approximately 3.7 MCY for BA-45 and 5.5 MCY for BA-143 from the borrow area (CEC 2015 and CEC 2017). A combination of cutterhead dredge/scow barges and hopper dredges were used to construct the project. A key goal of this project was restoring and protecting the fragile ecosystem which provides critical habitat for nesting shorebirds. The headland is of critical importance in serving as a defense of our national energy infrastructure. The western portion of the headland directly protects Port Fourchon, one of the nation’s most important energy ports. Caillou Lake Headlands (TE-100), known locally as Whiskey Island, is centrally located in the Isle Dernieres chain and it is a remnant of the single, larger Isle Dernieres (Last Island), which was segmented into multiple smaller islands by a major hurricane in 1856. The project included restoring the beach and dune along approximately 4.5 mi while simultaneously creating a marsh platform along approximately 5,500 feet (ft) utilizing 10.4 MCY of sand from the borrow area (CEC 2018). The borrow area lies within Ship Shoal OCS Lease Block 88 located over 10 mi along the conveyance corridor offshore of Whiskey Island. This project represents the largest barrier island restoration project to date in terms of volume per linear foot of shoreline with an average density of over 441 cubic yards per linear foot (CEC 2018).

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Overview of statewide geophysical surveys for ecosystem restoration in Louisiana

Shore & Beach ◽

10.34237/10088112 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 102-109

Author(s):

Syed Khalil ◽

Beth Forrest ◽

Mike Lowiec ◽

Beau Suthard ◽

Richard Raynie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Ecosystem Restoration ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Side Scan Sonar ◽

Island Restoration ◽

Geophysical Surveys ◽

Louisiana Coast ◽

Almost All

The System Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) was implemented by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to develop an Adaptive Management Implementation Plan (AMIP). SWAMP ensures that a comprehensive network of coastal data collection/monitoring activities is in place to support the development and implementation of Louisiana’s coastal protection and restoration program. Monitoring of physical terrain is an important parameter of SWAMP. For the first time a systematic approach was adopted to undertake a geophysical (bathymetric, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profile, and magnetometer) survey along more than 5,000 nautical miles (nm) (excluding the 1,559 nm currently being surveyed from west of Terrebonne Bay to Sabine Lake) of track-line in almost all of the bays and lakes from Chandeleur Sound in the east to Terrebonne Bay in the west. This data collection effort complements the regional bathymetric survey undertaken under the Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program in the adjacent offshore areas. This paper describes how a study of this magnitude was conceptualized, planned, and executed along the entire Louisiana coast. It is important to note that the initial intent was to collect bathymetric data only for numerical modelling for ecosystem restoration and storm surge prediction. Geophysical data were added for oyster identification and delineation. These first-order data also help comprehend the regional subsurface geology essential for sediment exploration to support Louisiana’s marsh and barrier island restoration projects.

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Ecosystem restoration in Louisiana — a decade after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Shore & Beach ◽

10.34237/1008815 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 38-48

Author(s):

Syed Khalil ◽

Gregory Grandy ◽

Richard Raynie

Keyword(s):

Oil Spill ◽

Large Scale ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

High Energy ◽

Federal Agencies ◽

The State ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Louisiana Coast

Louisiana has a long history of coastal management and restoration actions with multiple projects implementing common approaches. Traditionally, most of the restoration efforts have been ongoing in Louisiana by state and federal agencies through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). These activities are now being expanded significantly through additional funding and implementing entities such as the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States (RESTORE) Act of 2012 Council, National Resource and Damage Assessment (NRDA) through the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG), and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Considering a broader ecosystem or landscape context for implemented restoration projects can provide a framework for emphasizing commonality of restoration goals. Such a framework allows for multiple benefits of restoration efforts to be quantified, including prioritized natural resources, ultimately assessing the effectiveness of large-scale restoration efforts in coastal Louisiana. Three disasters have completely changed the trajectory of Louisiana’s coastal resto- ration and protection program. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) compelled the state to take serious note of the vagaries of nature, especially high-energy events like hurricanes, and to develop a comprehensive/robust coastal protection and restoration plan. Five years later, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed the fragility of the Louisiana coast but at the same time penalty monies provided much needed funding to implement the state’s coastal protection and restoration plans. This paper provides a high-level assessment of project implementation and makes the case that Louisiana could move quickly in the implementation of various restoration plans because robust and comprehensive restoration plans were previously developed and are available. Here, it must be appreciated that for the first time, dedicated funding is available not only for regional programmatic monitoring to implement adaptive management, but also for development of the art and science of restoration. It is also suggested that for efficient and cost effective implementation of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan federal agencies must work in tandem with the state/CPRA who not only bring the most comprehensive plan but expertise along with institutional knowledge to the table.

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A Multidisciplinary Approach to Investigate Deep-Pelagic Ecosystem Dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico Following Deepwater Horizon

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2020.548880 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

April B. Cook ◽

Andrea M. Bernard ◽

Kevin M. Boswell ◽

Heather Bracken-Grissom ◽

Marta D’Elia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Water Column ◽

Large Scale ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Community Integration ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Ecosystem Dynamics ◽

Western Boundary ◽

Genetic Sequencing ◽

Oceanic Ecosystem

The pelagic Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is a complex system of dynamic physical oceanography (western boundary current, mesoscale eddies), high biological diversity, and community integration via diel vertical migration and lateral advection. Humans also heavily utilize this system, including its deep-sea components, for resource extraction, shipping, tourism, and other commercial activity. This utilization has had impacts, some with disastrous consequences. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) occurred at a depth of ∼1500 m (Macondo wellhead), creating a persistent and toxic mixture of hydrocarbons and dispersant in the deep-pelagic (water column below 200 m depth) habitat. In order to assess the impacts of the DWHOS on this habitat, two large-scale research programs, described herein, were designed and executed. These programs, ONSAP and DEEPEND, aimed to quantitatively characterize the oceanic ecosystem of the northern GoM and to establish a time-series with which natural and anthropogenic changes could be detected. The approach was multi-disciplinary in nature and included in situ sampling, acoustic sensing, water column profiling and sampling, satellite remote sensing, AUV sensing, numerical modeling, genetic sequencing, and biogeochemical analyses. The synergy of these methodologies has provided new and unprecedented perspectives of an oceanic ecosystem with respect to composition, connectivity, drivers, and variability.

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PREDICTING THE EVOLUTION OF COASTAL LOUISIANAâ€™S BARRIER ISLANDS

Coastal Engineering Proceedings ◽

10.9753/icce.v36.sediment.15 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 15

Author(s):

Michael Poff ◽

Vadim Alymov

Keyword(s):

Mississippi River ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Barrier Islands ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Storm Events ◽

Island Restoration ◽

Modeling Approaches ◽

Basin Scale ◽

And Migration

The Louisiana barrier islands are one of the outcomes of the Mississippi River outlet changing over the past several thousand years. It is the natural shifts in the river channel alignment interacting with the combination of anthropogenic impacts, sediment transport, and significant storm events that drive barrier island formation and subsequent erosion and migration. Predicting the evolution of Louisianaâ€™s barrier islands is a critical component of Louisianaâ€™s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) program for restoring and sustaining their barrier islands. Both empirical and numerical modeling approaches, as well as hybrid modeling approaches, have been utilized for predicting morphologic changes over time. These predictions have been employed for the development of single-island restoration projects, and for the long-term basin-scale modeling completed for the 2017 Coastal Master Plan (CPRA, 2017) for which Coastal Engineering Consultants served on the barrier island modeling team.

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LONG-TERM SUBSIDENCE OF BEACH NOURISHMENT AND DUNE RESTORATION IN CAMINADA HEADLANDS, COASTAL LOUISIANA

Coastal Engineering Proceedings ◽

10.9753/icce.v36.risk.66 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 66

Author(s):

Navid H. Jafari ◽

Brian D. Harris ◽

Timothy D. Stark

Keyword(s):

Wind Waves ◽

Barrier Island ◽

Barrier Islands ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Inland Bays ◽

Island Restoration ◽

Coastal Barrier ◽

Geotechnical Investigations ◽

Sediment Consolidation

Coastal barrier islands are the first line of defense for protecting wetlands, inland bays, and mainland regions from direct effects of wind, waves, and storms. Rosati (2006) indicate that 20 to 40% of the total sand volume can be sequestered and lost from the sandy barrier island through consolidation. As a result, predicting long-term subsurface sediment consolidation is integral to determining the ability of barrier islands to provide coastal protection and resilience to future hazards, such as relative sea level rise, sediment erosion, and hurricanes. This study uses the Caminada Headlands geotechnical investigations and monitoring data to determine empirical correlations for deltaic sediment compressibility and develop a validated and calibrated consolidation and subsidence numerical model for future barrier island restoration projects. With this calibrated model, differential settlements associated with sand fill placement can be estimated to design placement elevations to maintain post-construction topography for ecological habitat and restoration requirements and can be used for future beach restoration projects along barrier island shorelines.

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