Coastal Wetlands: Lessons Learned from Past Efforts in Louisiana
Could Help Guide Future Restoration and Protection (14-DEC-07,
GAO-08-130).
Louisiana, home to 40 percent of all coastal wetlands in the
lower 48 states, is projected to lose almost 17 square miles of
coastline each year for the next 50 years to storms, sea level
rise, and land subsidence. Coastal wetlands are an important
wildlife and commercial resource, and provide a natural buffer
against the storm surge that accompanies storms and hurricanes.
The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
(CWPPRA) established a program in 1990 that undertakes projects
to stem coastal wetland losses. Recently, the Congress passed
other measures that will make billions in new funding available
for coastal Louisiana over the next 20 years. GAO has prepared
this report under the Comptroller General's authority as part of
a continued effort to assist the Congress. GAO reviewed the
CWPPRA program to identify the (1) types of projects that have
been designed and constructed to restore and protect coastal
wetlands, as well as their estimated costs and benefits, and (2)
lessons learned from past and ongoing restoration efforts that
can help guide future efforts. GAO's review included interviews
with each program agency. Although GAO is not making any
recommendations, this review emphasizes the need for agencies to
carefully consider the lessons learned from the CWPPRA program as
they propose significantly larger efforts to restore Louisiana's
coast. GAO received technical comments from two agencies which
have been incorporated as appropriate.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-08-130
ACCNO: A78910
TITLE: Coastal Wetlands: Lessons Learned from Past Efforts in
Louisiana Could Help Guide Future Restoration and Protection
DATE: 12/14/2007
SUBJECT: Conservation programs
Cost analysis
Environmental law
Environmental monitoring
Environmental policies
Environmental protection
Federal aid to states
Federal/state relations
Funds management
Land management
Land reclamation
Land use
Lessons learned
Policy evaluation
Program evaluation
Schedule slippages
Wetlands
Wildlife conservation
Benefit-cost tracking
Cost estimates
Program goals or objectives
Program implementation
Louisiana
******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a **
** GAO Product. **
** **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced. Tables are included, but **
** may not resemble those in the printed version. **
** **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed **
** document's contents. **
** **
******************************************************************
GAO-08-130
* [1]Results in Brief
* [2]Background
* [3]Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
* [4]Additional Funding to Restore and Protect Louisiana Coastal
* [5]Various Projects Have Been Designed and Constructed to Resto
* [6]Estimated Cost for CWPPRA Projects That Restore and Protect
* [7]Project Costs Vary Significantly, and Most Restored Wetlands
* [8]Accomplishments and Challenges to Restoring Louisiana's Coas
* [9]Agency Officials Consider an Interagency Structure and Colla
* [10]Restoration Efforts Face Various Planning and Implementation
* [11]Concluding Observations
* [12]Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
* [13]GAO Comments
* [14]GAO Contact
* [15]Staff Acknowledgments
* [16]Order by Mail or Phone
Report to Congressional Addressees
United States Government Accountability Office
GAO
December 2007
COASTAL WETLANDS
Lessons Learned from Past Efforts in Louisiana Could Help Guide Future
Restoration and Protection
GAO-08-130
Contents
Letter 1
Results in Brief 5
Background 8
Various Projects Have Been Designed and Constructed to Restore and Protect
Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands 14
Accomplishments and Challenges to Restoring Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands
Provide Lessons Learned for Future Restoration Efforts 29
Concluding Observations 36
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 37
Appendix I Summary Schedules of CWPPRA Projects 40
Appendix II Comments from the Department of Commerce 52
GAO Comments 54
Appendix III Comments from the Environmental Protection Agency 55
Appendix IV GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 57
Tables
Table 1: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects in Design and Engineering as
of June 2007 40
Table 2: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects under Construction as of June
2007 44
Table 3: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects Completed as of June 2007 46
Table 4: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects Terminated as of June 2007 50
Figures
Figure 1: Louisiana Coastal Area Projected Land Changes between 2000-2050
9
Figure 2: The Maurepas Swamp Before a River Reintroduction Project 15
Figure 3: Crevasse in a Sediment Diversion Project 16
Figure 4: Gate in an Outfall Management Project 17
Figure 5: Marsh Creation Project Using Dredged Material 18
Figure 6: Rock Berm Built for Shoreline Protection 19
Figure 7: Water Control Structure to Restore Drainage Patterns and Water
Flow 20
Figure 8: Gates to Control Saltwater Levels 21
Figure 9: Barrier Islands 22
Figure 10: Native Marsh Plants 23
Figure 11: Terraces Built to Trap Sediment and Slow Water Flow 24
Figure 12: Constructing Terraces to Trap Sediment in Open Water 25
Figure 13: Nutria Overgraze on Native Wetland Plants 26
Figure 14: Organization of the CWPPRA Task Force 29
Abbreviations
CIAP Coastal Impact Assistance Program Corps
Army Corps of Engineers
CWPPRA Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FWS Fish and Wildlife Service
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service
USGS United States Geological Survey
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced
and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO.
However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other
material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you
wish to reproduce this material separately.
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548
December 14, 2007
Congressional Addressees
Since the 1930s, coastal Louisiana has lost over 1.2 million acres of
wetlands or other coastal habitats and the U.S. Geological Survey
estimates that the region will continue to lose about 10,800 acres--almost
17 square miles--each year for the next 50 years to storms, sea level
rise, land subsidence (sinking), and the construction of levees and canals
that weaken the sustainability of the landscape. Flood control structures,
such as dams, have reduced the amount of suspended sediment in the
Mississippi River and levees have disconnected the river from the
floodplain, disrupting the natural process by which the river historically
deposited sediment in the delta to build and sustain coastal wetlands.
Coastal Louisiana is one of the most wetland-rich regions of the
world--home to about 2.5 million acres of fresh, brackish, and saltwater
marshes, accounting for about 40 percent of the coastal marshland in the
lower 48 states. Wetlands support a diverse mix of plants and wildlife,
filter rainwater runoff, and provide a natural buffer against the storm
surges that accompany tropical storms and hurricanes. For example, based
on observations of hurricanes striking the Louisiana coast, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers estimated that storm surge was reduced about 1 foot for
every 2.75 miles of coastal wetlands that the surge had to cross. Coastal
wetland losses in Louisiana account for up to 90 percent of the total
coastal wetlands loss occurring in the lower 48 states today and expose
the state's coastal areas to the devastating effects of hurricane storm
surges. It is generally accepted that the deterioration of Louisiana's
coastal wetlands exacerbated the degree to which Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita and flooding from the associated storm surge affected New Orleans,
coastal Louisiana, and the greater Gulf Coast region. Since the 1930s,
coastal Louisiana has lost over 1.2 million acres of wetlands or other
coastal habitats and the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the region
will continue to lose about 10,800 acres--almost 17 square miles--each
year for the next 50 years to storms, sea level rise, land subsidence
(sinking), and the construction of levees and canals that weaken the
sustainability of the landscape. Flood control structures, such as dams,
have reduced the amount of suspended sediment in the Mississippi River and
levees have disconnected the river from the floodplain, disrupting the
natural process by which the river historically deposited sediment in the
delta to build and sustain coastal wetlands. Coastal Louisiana is one of
the most wetland-rich regions of the world--home to about 2.5 million
acres of fresh, brackish, and saltwater marshes, accounting for about 40
percent of the coastal marshland in the lower 48 states. Wetlands support
a diverse mix of plants and wildlife, filter rainwater runoff, and provide
a natural buffer against the storm surges that accompany tropical storms
and hurricanes. For example, based on observations of hurricanes striking
the Louisiana coast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that storm
surge was reduced about 1 foot for every 2.75 miles of coastal wetlands
that the surge had to cross. Coastal wetland losses in Louisiana account
for up to 90 percent of the total coastal wetlands loss occurring in the
lower 48 states today and expose the state's coastal areas to the
devastating effects of hurricane storm surges. It is generally accepted
that the deterioration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands exacerbated the
degree to which Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and flooding from the
associated storm surge affected New Orleans, coastal Louisiana, and the
greater Gulf Coast region.
In 1990, the Congress passed the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act (CWPPRA),^11 the first federal program specifically
directed toward authorizing funding for the restoration of Louisiana's
coastal wetlands. CWPPRA created the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands In 1990,
the Congress passed the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act (CWPPRA), the first federal program specifically directed
toward authorizing funding for the restoration of Louisiana's coastal
wetlands. CWPPRA created the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands
^1Pub. L. No. 101-646, Title III. The Coastal Wetlands Planning,
Protection and Restoration Act is also referred to as the Breaux Act after
Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, one of the act's authors.
Conservation and Restoration Task Force, which includes five federal
agencies and the state of Louisiana. The CWPPRA task force makes decisions
on coastal restoration projects, including project funding, planning, and
the transition of projects from initiation through design and engineering,
construction, operations, maintenance, and monitoring. The CWPPRA task
force assigns individual projects to member agencies--called federal
sponsors--to plan, design, construct, operate, maintain, and monitor the
projects. As chair of the CWPPRA task force, the Corps manages project
funds and maintains records and data on projects. The other task force
members are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Louisiana
Governor's Office of Coastal Activities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
also participates in the CWPPRA program, although it is not a member of
the task force.
CWPPRA projects are designed to protect and/or restore coastal wetlands
and reduce land loss. Projects to protect coastal wetlands include
constructing shoreline barriers with rocks, sheet piling, or other
engineering materials to reduce the effects of wave energy and removing
destructive invasive wildlife species such as nutria, a rodent that
damages marsh vegetation. Protection is critical to preventing or slowing
the rate of wetlands loss caused by erosion, saltwater intrusion,
subsidence, and other factors. Projects to restore coastal wetlands
include planting marsh vegetation to promote the return of wildlife,
placing dredged sediment in deteriorating marshes to encourage plant
growth, blocking or backfilling dredged canals that change natural water
flows and contribute to erosion and allow saltwater intrusion, cutting
gaps in levees to reestablish natural drainage patterns, and diverting
freshwater and sediment to declining swamps and marshes. Individual CWPPRA
projects are designed to protect and restore between 10 and 10,000 acres,
require an average 5 years to transition from approval to construction,
and are funded to operate for 20 years.
While the CWPPRA program has received almost $800 million over the last 17
years to plan, design, construct, operate, maintain, and monitor projects,
based on their preliminary estimates, Louisiana state officials told us
that they expect to receive more than 10 times this funding--about $8.5
billion--for restoring and protecting the state's coast over the next 20
years from new federal programs. Specifically, they estimate that
Louisiana will receive up to $523 million over 4 years beginning in 2008
through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP), which was created by
Section 384 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.^2 CIAP is intended to help
certain coastal states and their political subdivisions (parishes and
counties) mitigate the effects of oil and gas production by allocating a
portion of qualified outer continental shelf oil and natural gas revenues
to them. Among other things, these funds may be used for projects and
activities to conserve, protect, or restore coastal areas, including
projects designed and engineered under CWPPRA. In addition, based on their
review of the provisions contained in the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security
Act of 2006,^3 Louisiana state officials told us they expect to receive up
to $6.2 billion over at least 20 years from certain outer continental
shelf oil and gas production revenue; specifically, $200 million in the
first 10 years and between $400 and $600 million per year thereafter to
fund efforts such as the restoration of coastal wetlands. Finally, the
Water Resources Development Act of 2007^4 contains provisions for over $1
billion for coastal restoration in Louisiana.
In anticipation of this potential surge in additional funding for the
restoration and protection of the Louisiana coast, both Louisiana and the
Corps, with input from other CWPPRA federal agencies, have prepared or are
developing specific coastal restoration plans for the state. In June 2007,
Louisiana approved a master plan for the restoration and protection of
coastal Louisiana that officials estimate will cost more than $50 billion
to implement and take up to three decades to complete. In response to the
Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2006,^5 the Corps is
also conducting a study and plans to issue a preliminary report by
December 2007 that will recommend a comprehensive approach to flood,
coastal, and hurricane protection for Louisiana. In coastal Louisiana,
flood control generally includes interior drainage systems, such as pumps
and canals, to reduce rain-induced flooding while hurricane protection
includes levees and other structures to reduce the risk of flooding from
storm surges. Corps officials told us they plan to submit a final report
to the Congress in the fall of 2008.
^2Pub. L. No. 109-58.
^3Pub. L. No. 109-432, Division C, Title I.
^4Pub. L. No. 110-114.
^5Pub. L. No. 109-103.
In light of the importance of coastal wetlands to help protect against
future Katrina-level devastation and the significant efforts under way or
proposed to restore Louisiana's coastal wetlands, we undertook this study
under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his
own initiative as part of our continued effort to assist the Congress.
Specifically, we identified the (1) types of CWPPRA projects that have
been designed and/or constructed to restore and protect Louisiana's
coastal wetlands, including their expected benefits and estimated costs,
and (2) lessons learned from past and ongoing restoration efforts that can
help guide future plans to restore and protect these coastal wetlands.
To identify the types of projects that have been designed and/or
constructed to restore and protect Louisiana's coastal wetlands, we
reviewed documentation on every CWPPRA project in design, under
construction, completed, or terminated, including project plans and
designs, project manager's technical fact sheets, and monitoring plans and
reports. We interviewed officials at the headquarters offices of the Corps
(within the Department of Defense), EPA, FWS (an agency within the
Department of the Interior), NMFS (an agency within the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration), NRCS (an agency within the Department of
Agriculture), and USGS (an agency within the Department of the Interior),
and interviewed officials working in Louisiana for each of these agencies.
We also interviewed officials from the Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources. We observed the work performed on three CWPPRA projects and two
other restoration projects constructed by the Corps. To identify the
lessons learned from past restoration efforts that can help guide future
plans to restore and protect coastal wetlands, we reviewed program funding
reports, minutes of task force and technical committee meetings, and
Louisiana annual project reviews. We interviewed federal agency project
managers and members of CWPPRA task force committees and work groups in
Louisiana, as well as officials from USGS and the Louisiana Department of
Natural Resources on the process to protect and restore coastal wetlands
under CWPPRA. We also reviewed relevant federal laws and regulations and,
where appropriate, state laws and cases. In conducting our work, we
concentrated our efforts on the CWPPRA program because of the exceedingly
high rate of wetlands loss in Louisiana and because the program is the
first federal program specifically directed toward authorizing funding to
restore Louisiana's coastal wetlands. We conducted our work between
October 2006 and October 2007 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.
Results in Brief
Over the last 17 years under CWPPRA, federal agencies and Louisiana have
designed and/or constructed a range of 147 projects to restore and protect
over 120,000 acres of coastal wetlands, which is equivalent to about 3
percent of the state's coastal area. As of June 2007, of these 147
projects, 74 were completely constructed, 16 were under construction, and
57 were being designed and engineered. These 147 projects fall into about
12 major categories ranging from large-scale efforts that reintroduce
freshwater and sediment across declining wetlands to smaller projects such
as shoreline barriers and vegetation plantings to protect and restore the
coastal landscape. The majority of projects were full-scale restoration
and protection efforts, while 22 were demonstration projects, initiated to
test new techniques and materials to restore or protect coastal wetlands.
Of the 74 projects constructed since 1990, more than half were one of two
types--shoreline protection (building barriers from material such as rock
or plants) and hydrologic restoration (restoring natural drainage
patterns). These two types of projects also accounted for over one-quarter
of the more than 120,000 wetland acreage protected and restored by the
CWPPRA program. The cost of CWPPRA projects can vary considerably; for
example, projects to plant marsh plants have averaged about $9,000 per
acre while projects to protect barrier islands have averaged almost
$54,000 per acre. As of June 2007, the total cost to complete all 147
projects was estimated at $1.78 billion, which includes initial funding
for operations and maintenance. However, most projects will require
continuous funding to maintain them over their expected life span of 20
years. Like naturally occurring wetlands, restored wetlands can experience
continuous erosion and subsidence, which over time generally diminishes
the amount of restored acreage. As a result, most of these projects are
designed with the expectation that they will provide wetland benefits for
a 20-year period, after which they may or may not be viable. Because the
CWPPRA program has not fully implemented a comprehensive monitoring
process, we were unable to determine the extent to which the completed
projects have been successful in creating and restoring coastal wetlands
in Louisiana.
Past and ongoing efforts to restore and protect Louisiana's coastal
wetlands offer important lessons that can help guide future restoration
plans and strategies. In particular, officials from Louisiana and the five
federal agencies that have collaborated on Louisiana's coastal wetland
projects through the CWPPRA task force told us they believe that the
CWPPRA program's unique interagency approach and process are the primary
reasons that the program has been able to design and construct a range of
projects on the Louisiana coast. Specifically, the CWPPRA process brings
together biologists, other scientists, civil engineers, and others, whose
broad range of experience and expertise helps ensure that the projects
they design and construct are technically feasible and will achieve their
environmental objectives. To improve collaboration, the CWPPRA task force
formed committees and technical work groups with members from federal
agencies and Louisiana to assist each phase of the restoration process.
Maintaining this collaborative interagency approach will be essential to
future success. Ultimate success, however, will also be dependent upon a
project managers' ability to address a number of issues that have surfaced
on past CWPPRA projects. Specifically,
o Increasing project costs. Over the life of a project, costs can
increase significantly causing unanticipated delays for individual
projects, as well as the overall restoration program. For CWPPRA
projects, costs have increased significantly over original
estimates because of the increasing costs of fuel, labor, and
building material. As a result, fewer projects are being designed
and constructed. For example, as of October 2007, there were 10
fully designed CWPPRA projects awaiting funding because the $190
million estimated cost for construction exceeded the amount of
annual program funds available for new construction. Further, the
funds were needed to pay for the higher construction, operations,
and maintenance costs of other projects.
o Limited monitoring and assessment capabilities. Without an
integrated monitoring and assessment process, it is difficult to
determine whether restoration efforts are meeting their goals and
objectives. Further, while Louisiana officials have monitored and
prepared reports for projects constructed under the CWPPRA
program, task force and USGS officials told us their reports have
provided limited performance data on the success of these
projects. Since 2003, USGS has been working with the CWPPRA task
force to develop a coast-wide monitoring system. The system is
expected to be fully implemented in 2008. However, until the
system is fully implemented and able to provide sufficient data to
support statistical and trend analysis, officials will not know
whether projects are collectively restoring the coast or whether
these efforts are having adverse unintended effects.
o Private land ownership issues. During a project's planning and
design phase, it is important to identify and attend to private
land ownership issues which, if not addressed, could lead to
costly design modifications or construction delays. Coastal
Louisiana is about 85 percent privately owned by individuals and
businesses. Agency officials have had to spend significant amounts
of time locating individual landowners to obtain approval to
construct CWPPRA projects. For example, agency officials told us
they had to contact from 1 to 100 landowners to obtain approval to
initiate one project. To construct projects on commercially owned
lands, federal agencies have had to relocate or temporarily move
infrastructure which has, in some instances, significantly
increased CWPPRA project costs.
o Uncertainty of project performance. Some projects simply fail to
perform as designed for reasons largely beyond the designers'
control, such as existing drainage patterns or other landscape
features. Over the years, about 20 CWPPRA projects have had to be
terminated due to, in some cases, technical difficulties and
design problems that the designers could not resolve. For example,
officials terminated a terracing project after concluding that it
would not be technically feasible to construct terraces on the
land due to poor sediment quality.
o Setbacks as a result of storm damage. Storms and hurricanes can
cause significant damage to coastal areas, including both
naturally occurring and restored wetlands. Although most CWPPRA
projects did not sustain significant damage from Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, other Louisiana coastal restoration projects
were significantly impacted by the storms. Specifically, Hurricane
Katrina destroyed more than 25,000 acres of wetlands in the
Caernarvon Project area, a large Corps' project constructed in
1991 that diverts water from the Mississippi River to restore
nearby wetlands.
As federal and state planners move forward with much larger scale
efforts to protect and restore Louisiana's coastal wetlands, we
believe that it will be critical for them to carefully consider
the lessons learned, both the keys to success and the challenges,
from the experiences of CWPPRA projects. As the CWPPRA experience
demonstrates, while not all of the uncertainties surrounding
wetlands protection and restoration projects can be predicted in
advance, a well-developed project implementation strategy that
includes mechanisms to address these kinds of uncertainties is
essential for ensuring project success.
We provided a copy of this report to the Departments of Commerce,
Defense, Interior, EPA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for
review and comment. In commenting on a draft of this report, EPA
provided comments indicating agreement with our findings and
observations. The Department of Commerce, commenting for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, generally agreed
that our report was accurate and thorough but disagreed with our
characterization of CWPPRA monitoring. Specifically, the agency
stated that while long term data acquisition will be required
before officials are able to develop scientific conclusions on
integrated project effectiveness, it emphasized that individual
project monitoring currently taking place offers critical insights
into project performance. While we believe that our description of
CWPPRA monitoring efforts was accurate, we have revised the report
to clarify some of the issues included in the agency's comments.
Both the Department of Commerce and Department of Defense also
provided technical comments, which we have incorporated throughout
the report as appropriate. The Department of the Interior and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture did not provide comments on this
report.
Background
Coastal Louisiana's 2.5 million acres of fresh, brackish, and
saltwater marshes support a diverse mix of plants and wildlife,
filter rainwater runoff, and help protect the region from damaging
storm surges from the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana's coastal
landscape provides a habitat for millions of migratory birds and
17 threatened or endangered species and supports the largest
shrimp, oyster, and blue crab production in the United States. Its
coastal wetlands also protect coastal regions and critical
infrastructure, such as oil and gas platforms and pipelines, from
the storm surges that accompany tropical storms and hurricanes.
The Louisiana coast has lost over 1 million acres of wetlands
since the 1930s and that loss is expected to continue. In 2004,
USGS projected that, between 2000 and 2050, more than 430,000
acres, or about 13 square miles per year, would be lost if no
further protection and restoration measures are implemented. If
current plans to protect and restore the wetlands were
implemented,^6 USGS estimated wetlands losses would slow to
329,000 acres, or just over 10 square miles per year, by 2050.
(See fig. 1.)
^6The USGS estimate of current plans to protect and restore the wetlands
includes all CWPPRA projects, two Corps' freshwater diversion projects,
and two Corps' delta building projects constructed, or funded for
construction, as of October 2002.
Figure 1: Louisiana Coastal Area Projected Land Changes between 2000-2050
Since the 2005 hurricanes, estimated land loss rates are being revised, in
part, to reflect the immediate land loss caused by the storms and
estimated rates of recovery. According to a USGS official, up to 16.9
square miles of coastal wetlands may be lost each year over the next 50
years, assuming no future protection and restoration measures are
implemented.
In addition to the storms, sea level rise, and land subsidence (sinking)
that have contributed to and continue to cause coastal wetlands loss, the
construction of levees and canals, such as the hundreds of miles of
Mississippi River levees constructed to control flooding, also weaken the
sustainability of the landscape and contribute to coastal wetlands loss.
Flood control structures such as dams on Mississippi River tributaries and
levees on the lower Mississippi River have disrupted the natural processes
by which the river deposited sediment in the delta to build and sustain
coastal wetlands. Specifically, dams and levees reduce the amount of
suspended sediment in the river, which reduces the amount of sediment
reaching the Mississippi River delta--the area of land built up by
sediment deposited by the river as it slows down and enters the [17]Gulf
of Mexico . Currently the Mississippi River delivers an estimated 141
million tons of sediment to the Gulf each year--less than one-third the
amount of sediment the river carried prior to the 1950s and including but
not limited to, the hundreds of miles of levees along the Mississippi
River and its tributaries constructed to reduce flood damage, also impact
the sustainability of the landscape and contribute to coastal wetlands
loss. Much of the sediment that reaches the Gulf is carried away from the
land and deposited over the continental shelf where it is lost to the
ocean and cannot be recovered.
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act
CWPPRA was originally enacted in November 1990, and it authorized funding
through 1999.^7 The Congress subsequently extended the program's funding
authority through 2009 and later through 2019 providing about 30 years of
funding for the program. Federal funding for the CWPPRA program currently
comes from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (Trust Fund),
which is administered by the Department of the Interior and funded by
taxes on the sale of motor boat fuel, small engine fuel taxes, and sport
fishing equipment. Federal funding for the engineering, design,
construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of CWPPRA projects
has averaged approximately $50 million each year, ranging from about $28
million per year in the early 1990s to $71 million in 2007. Task force
officials told us they expect to receive an estimated $76 million in
federal funds in 2008 and annual increases each year up to an estimated
$108 million in federal funds by 2017, based on Department of the
Interior's estimates of increases to the Trust Fund, the source of federal
funding for the CWPPRA program. Total estimated funding for all program
planning and construction through 2019 is $2.44 billion in federal and
nonfederal funds.
Under CWPPRA, the federal government generally is required to fund 75
percent of project costs, with the state providing the remaining 25
percent. However, according to CWPPRA, Louisiana's share may be reduced if
the state develops a coastal wetlands conservation plan. In 1997, the
Corps, EPA, and FWS approved Louisiana's conservation plan so the states'
contribution was reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent. Further, in 1996,
the Water Resources Development Act authorized the task force to reduce
the states' contribution to 10 percent for projects approved in 1996 and
1997. At least one-third of Louisiana's share must be in the form of a
cash contribution; the balance may be in the form of providing lands,
easements, rights-of-way, or other in-kind contributions that the CWPPRA
agency sponsor determines to be appropriate, such as designing and
engineering projects. Under CWPPRA, no more than $5 million per year may
be used for task force planning purposes; the remainder must be used for
the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of
projects.
^7Pub. L. No. 101-646, Title III, S 308.
Under the CWPPRA program, the annual process to nominate candidate
projects typically begins around January when federal CWPPRA agencies and
the state meet with local governments and individuals to propose
protection and restoration measures to address critical areas of need. In
February, the CWPPRA agencies meet with other stakeholders, such as state
and parish officials, to review proposals and select up to 20 projects for
potential development. From these, the task force's technical committee
selects 10 projects for potential engineering and design, designates a
lead federal agency to begin developing designs and cost estimates, and
evaluates the potential benefits of these projects. For each project,
agency officials provide an estimate of how many wetland acres will be
created, restored, and/or protected after 20 years based on the proposed
design and assumptions, such as anticipated changes in water flow or
salinity. After project designs and estimates are prepared, the various
CWPPRA work groups meet to review and evaluate proposed project plans,
preliminary cost estimates, and projected benefits, and to estimate
life-cycle costs for proposed projects. Based on this set of conceptual
project planning information, the task force selects a subset of candidate
projects, typically in October of each year, to begin engineering and
design. Around the following January, the task force approves funding for
certain projects that have completed engineering and design to begin
construction, operations, maintenance and monitoring. Project
implementation averages about 5 years from the time candidate projects are
selected through the completion of construction. Following construction,
Louisiana typically operates, maintains, and monitors the performance of
projects for up to 20 years.
CWPPRA requires that the task force also consider funding small-scale
projects that demonstrate the use of new techniques or materials for
coastal wetlands restoration. In 1993, the task force recommended that
funding for demonstration projects be limited to about $2 million per
year. In 2006, concerned that funding constraints would eliminate
demonstration projects, the task force recommended that it consider
funding at least one demonstration project per year as long as
demonstration projects do not exceed $2 million in total costs. The task
force also funds monitoring for demonstration projects.
As chair of the CWPPRA task force, the Corps is responsible for the
administration of federal program funds. Based on documentation submitted
by federal agencies, the Corps disburses funds from the Trust Fund, as
well as the states' share from an escrow account to pay for the planning,
design, construction, operations, maintenance, and monitoring of projects.
Louisiana and federal agencies also fund individual projects through cost
sharing agreements, cooperative agreements, or grants that outline
approved project cost estimates, federal and state cost shares, and how
the states' cost share payments will be made, such as through work-in-kind
or cash payments.
Additional Funding to Restore and Protect Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Will Become
Available over the Next 20 Years
Two new federal programs are expected to provide billions of dollars in
additional funding for the restoration and protection of coastal
Louisiana. Taken together, Louisiana expects to receive between $6.5
billion and $8.5 billion over at least 20 years from these new programs to
fund coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects. These new
programs are:
o Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP). The Energy Policy Act
of 2005 established CIAP, a revenue-sharing program to help
coastal states and their parishes and counties mitigate the
effects of oil and gas production.^8 Under this program, the
Secretary of the Interior is required to disburse $250 million
each year for 4 years (fiscal years 2007 through 2010) to certain
coastal states based on an allocation formula specified in the
law.^9 Funds for the program will come from qualified outer
continental shelf oil and natural gas revenue. States must submit
a plan to the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management
Service by July 1, 2008, which must be approved in order for
states to receive CIAP funds. States may use CIAP funds for
projects and activities to conserve, protect, or restore coastal
areas, and for certain other purposes. In February 2007, Louisiana
state officials estimated they would receive up to $523 million
over 4 years from CIAP. In June 2007, Louisiana submitted its plan
to the Minerals Management Service and plans to fund the
construction of six CWPPRA projects using the first year of CIAP
funds. In July, Louisiana state officials told us they expected to
receive the first funds beginning in 2008. On November 29, 2007,
the Minerals Management Service approved Louisiana's plan.
^8Pub. L. No. 109-58, S 384.
^943 U.S.C. S 1356a(b).
o Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. Under this law, four
coastal, energy-producing states--Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Texas--and their parishes and counties will share 37.5 percent
of certain revenues from royalties from the production of oil and
natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico.^10 They may use the funding for
such efforts as coastal restoration and hurricane protection.
Under this program, Louisiana expects to receive $200 million over
the course of the first 10 years and between $400 and $600 million
per year thereafter. Louisiana state officials told us the state
expects to receive the first funds under this act in 2008 or 2009.
In addition, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 included
authorizations for hundreds of projects and studies, including
about $1.6 billion for the Corps to construct coastal Louisiana
restoration projects. At least one of the projects contained in
the law was engineered and designed under the CWPPRA program.
In response to the 2005 hurricanes, both the state of Louisiana
and the Corps began developing coastal restoration plans for the
state, which are expected to be paid for, in part, with this
additional funding. The following are summaries of these two
plans:
o Louisiana's Plan. In June 2007, the Louisiana state legislature
approved a comprehensive master plan, developed by a state agency,
for ecosystem restoration and hurricane protection for the
Louisiana coast. The plan is based on previous hurricane
protection initiatives and established flood control and coastal
restoration concepts. It outlines several planning objectives and
makes a series of recommendations such as restoring the
sustainability of the Mississippi River delta, immediately closing
the Mississippi River gulf outlet, and it suggests strategies to
provide greater hurricane protection to coastal Louisiana. The
plan acknowledges challenges and trade-offs, such as the
likelihood that not every coastal community will receive the same
level of hurricane protection. It also acknowledges certain
technical unknowns, such as how to balance the effects of
protection projects, such as levees, with restoration projects,
such as diversions and marsh restoration. Although final cost
estimates have not been developed, Louisiana officials estimate
that the plan will cost more than $50 billion over several
decades. In April 2007, the state released its 2008 annual plan
for the restoration and protection of coastal Louisiana that
estimated it would cost $1.07 billion to implement the first 3
years (2008 through 2010) of the state's master plan.
^10Pub. L. No. 109-432, Division C, Title I.
o The Corps' Plan. The Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Act of 2006 required the Corps to conduct a study and recommend a
comprehensive approach to flood, coastal, and hurricane protection
for Louisiana. To prepare its report, the Corps is conducting a
series of public meetings to discuss alternative proposals to
restore and protect areas of need. The Corps is also working with
other federal agencies and Louisiana to identify cost,
performance, and risks for each alternative proposal. In July
2007, Corps officials told us they plan to submit a preliminary
report to the Congress by December 2007 and a final report in the
fall of 2008.
Various Projects Have Been Designed and Constructed to Restore and
Protect Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands
Over the last 17 years under CWPPRA, federal agencies and
Louisiana as of June 2007 have designed and/or constructed 147
projects to restore and protect more than 120,000 acres of coastal
wetlands--about 3 percent of the Louisiana coast. The total cost
of these projects is estimated to be about $1.78 billion. Although
costs vary significantly between project types, many projects are
generally expected to erode and subside over time, as a result of
naturally occurring hydrologic and geologic processes.
The various types of CWPPRA projects that have been designed
and/or constructed to protect and/or restore coastal wetlands
include the following:
Freshwater reintroduction. Freshwater reintroduction projects move
water through a gate, siphon, or pump to drain water from a body
of water, such as the Mississippi River, to a nearby area of
declining wetlands or marsh. The water carries some sediment and
nutrients and helps slow saltwater intrusion, which in turn slows
the loss of marsh and creates a small amount of new marsh. For
example, the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp project
sponsored by EPA is designed to restore and protect a deteriorated
swampland by reintroducing Mississippi River water, along with
sediment and nutrients, into the nearby Maurepas Swamp (see fig.
2) and protect 5,438 acres of wetlands. EPA has been developing
the project since August 2001, but construction is not expected to
begin until June 2009. As of June 2007, federal agencies and
Louisiana were designing and engineering eight projects to
reintroduce freshwater to nearby wetlands or marsh.
Figure 2: The Maurepas Swamp Before a River Reintroduction Project
Sediment diversion. Sediment diversion projects redirect sediment
to nearby wetlands to promote natural land-building processes. A
gap, called a crevasse, (see fig. 3) is cut into a river levee,
allowing river water, nutrients, and sediment to flow into a
marshland. The uncontrolled diversion (where water is allowed to
flow freely and is not controlled by a dam or lock) is designed to
create new marsh in shallow water. For example, the Corps
constructed the West Bay Sediment Diversion project in November
2003 to restore wetlands in shallow open water by adding sediment
that will restore 9,831 acres of marshlands. As of June 2007,
federal agencies and Louisiana were designing and engineering
seven projects and had completed five projects to divert sediment
to nearby wetlands.
Figure 3: Crevasse in a Sediment Diversion Project
Outfall management. Outfall management projects work together with
freshwater reintroduction or sediment diversion projects. They use
a variety of techniques to control the flow of water and sediment
through a combination of gates, locks, weirs, canal plugs, and
gaps cut in artificial levee banks (see fig. 4). For example, the
Caernarvon Diversion Outfall Management project completed by NRCS
in June 2002 is designed to restore 802 acres of wetlands by
promoting better sediment and nutrient flow from an existing Corps
sediment diversion project along the Mississippi River. As of June
2007, federal agencies and Louisiana were designing and
engineering one project and had completed two projects to manage
the flow of water and sediment.
Figure 4: Gate in an Outfall Management Project
Marsh creation. Marsh creation projects restore and protect
marshlands using sediment material from river dredging projects or
material dredged specifically to create a marsh. The dredged
material is placed in open water and/or on declining wetlands to
raise land levels so that marsh plants will become established to
form new marsh (see fig. 5). For example, the Corps constructed
the Bayou LaBranche Wetland Creation project in April 1994 by
depositing 2.7 million cubic yards of sediment dredged from Lake
Pontchartrain into open water areas to create 203 acres of new
marsh. As of June 2007, federal agencies and Louisiana were
designing and engineering 12 projects, constructing 3 projects,
and had completed 7 projects to create marshlands.
Figure 5: Marsh Creation Project Using Dredged Material
Shoreline protection. Shoreline protection projects are designed
to slow or stop shoreline erosion. Some techniques, such as rock
berms (see fig. 6), are built along eroding shorelines to reduce
the effect of waves on the shore. Other techniques, such as
breakwaters and intertidal dikes, are built in open water to slow
waves before they reach the shoreline. For example, NRCS
constructed the Boston Canal/Vermilion Bay Bank Protection project
in November 1995 by creating 1,400 feet of rock dikes and 1,000
feet of fence to protect and trap sediment for land building. As
of June 2007, federal agencies and Louisiana were designing and
engineering 13 projects, constructing 3 projects, and had
completed 23 projects to protect shorelines from erosion.
Figure 6: Rock Berm Built for Shoreline Protection
Hydrologic restoration. Hydrologic restoration projects are
designed to restore natural drainage patterns and water flow.
Gates, locks, or sheet pile dams (see fig. 7) are constructed
along rivers and other major waterways to change water flow. For
example, FWS designed the East Sabine Lake Hydrologic Restoration
project that will use various structures, such as a culvert and
terraces, to restore and protect 225 acres of marshes by
controlling saltwater entering the project area from nearby
waterways. Project design began in January 2001 and construction
is expected to be completed by July 2008. As of June 2007, federal
agencies and Louisiana were designing and engineering 6 projects,
constructing 3 projects, and had completed 18 projects to restore
hydrologic patterns and flows.
Figure 7: Water Control Structure to Restore Drainage Patterns and
Water Flow
Marsh management. Marsh management projects are designed to
provide a healthy ecosystem for waterfowl and animals. For
example, projects to control and maintain fresh and saltwater
levels promote the growth of native vegetation and help restore
wildlife habitat. NRCS' East Mud Lake Marsh Management project,
constructed in June 1996, uses gates to control and maintain
saltwater levels to manage over 8,000 acres of open water and salt
marsh and to restore 1,520 acres of marshland (see fig. 8). As of
June 2007, federal agencies and Louisiana had completed one
project to manage marshlands.
Figure 8: Gates to Control Saltwater Levels
Barrier island restoration. Barrier island restoration projects
are designed to protect and restore Louisiana's barrier
islands--small island chains separated from the mainland by open
water that provide the first line of defense from hurricanes and
storm surge (see fig. 9). These projects include adding dredged
material to expand barrier islands' height and width, building
structures to protect barrier islands from erosion, and erecting
sand-trapping fences and planting native vegetation to strengthen
sand dunes on barrier island beaches. For example, the Barataria
Barrier Island: Pelican Island and Pass La Mer to Chaland Pass
project sponsored by NMFS is designed to construct 484 acres of
sand dunes and marshes and plant them with native plants. The
project began in 2002 and construction completed on the Pass La
Mer to Chaland Pass portion of the project in December 2006. As of
June 2007, federal agencies and Louisiana were designing and
engineering five projects, constructing four projects, and had
completed five projects to restore barrier islands.
Figure 9: Barrier Islands
Vegetation planting. Vegetation planting projects use native marsh
plants (see fig. 10) to reduce erosion, hold soil firmly in place,
and expand/improve wildlife habitats. For example, NMFS
constructed the Chandeleur Islands Marsh Restoration project in
July 2001 after the storm surge resulting from Hurricane Georges
in 1998 reduced the Chandeleur Islands by 40 percent. The project
is designed to restore 220 acres of barrier islands using native
plants to help trap sediment. As of June 2007, federal agencies
and Louisiana were designing and engineering one project and had
completed five projects to plant vegetation.
Figure 10: Native Marsh Plants
Terracing. Terracing projects involve building low ridges in open
water, usually in patterns, to slow water flow and trap sediment
for marsh creation (see fig. 11). For example, NMFS' Little
Vermilion Bay Sediment Trapping project constructed in August 1999
has 23 terraces about 3 and 1/2 feet above sea level in an area
covering almost 1,000 acres of mostly open water to capture
sediment previously lost to high winds and waves and to restore
441 acres of wetlands. The project is also expected to improve
wildlife habitat and allow access for recreational fishing. As of
June 2007, federal agencies and Louisiana were designing and
engineering one project and had completed three projects to
construct terraces for marsh creation.
Figure 11: Terraces Built to Trap Sediment and Slow Water Flow
Sediment and nutrient trapping. Sediment and nutrient trapping
projects use brush fences or low land ridges (also called terraces
as discussed above) to slow water flow and promote the buildup of
sediment in shallow water to restore wetlands (see fig. 12). For
example, NMFS completed the Four Mile Canal Terracing and Sediment
Trapping project in May 2004 using material dredged from nearby
waterways to create over 68,000 feet of terraces in open shallow
water. NMFS also planted native grass on top of the terraces to
help secure the dredged soil and reduce erosion. As of June 2007,
federal agencies and Louisiana were designing and engineering one
project and had completed three projects to trap sediment and
nutrients.
Figure 12: Constructing Terraces to Trap Sediment in Open Water
Invasive species control programs. Invasive species control
programs pay licensed trappers or hunters to harvest non-native
animals, such as nutria (see fig. 13), brought to the United
States from South America during the 1930s for the fur trade.
Nutria damage marshlands by overgrazing on wetland plants. NRCS
introduced the Coastwide Nutria Control Program in November 2002
that paid licensed trappers $4 for each nutria tail delivered to a
collection center. In 2005, almost 300,000 nutria were caught and
killed under this program. As of June 2007, federal agencies and
Louisiana were conducting one project and had completed another
project to manage programs for the control of invasive species.
Figure 13: Nutria Overgraze on Native Wetland Plants
In addition to these projects, four projects are not
construction-type projects but are plans or small funds under
CWPPRA to support coastal restoration efforts. These four projects
are the Storm Recovery Assessment Fund, the Monitoring Contingency
Fund, the State of Louisiana Wetlands Conservation Plan, and the
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System for Wetlands.
Estimated Cost for CWPPRA Projects That Restore and Protect about
120,000 Acres of Coastal Wetlands Is $1.78 Billion
As of June 2007, federal agencies and Louisiana have designed
and/or constructed 147 projects under CWPPRA to protect and
restore 121,109 acres of coastal wetlands at an estimated cost of
$1.78 billion. Between fiscal years 1992 and 2007, the CWPPRA
program has received approximately $794 million, $714 million of
which has been provided for the construction of projects, and $80
million of which has been provided for other program activities
such as planning. As of June 2007, $356 million had been spent and
$616 million had been obligated.
Of the 147 projects designed and/or constructed, 74 were
completely constructed, 16 were under construction, and 57 were
being designed and engineered. (See app. I for detailed
information on each of the 147 CWPPRA projects.) Shoreline
protection projects (building barriers from rock or plants) and
hydrologic restoration projects (returning areas to their natural
drainage patterns) made up more than half of the 90 projects that
were completed or under construction and accounted for more than
one-quarter of the wetland acreage protected and restored under
CWPPRA. Shoreline protection and marsh creation projects accounted
for about half of the 57 projects still being designed and
engineered, or about one-fifth of the acreage planned for
restoration.
Of the 147 projects, 22 were demonstration projects, initiated to
test new techniques or materials to restore or protect coastal
wetlands, and more than half of these were to test new designs for
shoreline protection or marsh creation. For example, in 1997, NRCS
constructed eight breakwaters next to a barrier island to
demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of using multiple
breakwaters to reduce shoreline erosion on barrier islands and
assess their potential for use in future barrier island
restoration projects. NRCS officials concluded that the eight
breakwaters have reduced shoreline erosion and increased land
coverage over the effected area.
In addition to the projects designed and constructed since 1990,
the CWPPRA task force has terminated 20 projects for various
reasons but most often due to problems associated with land
rights, technical difficulties, and project cost-effectiveness.
(See app. I for detailed information about the 20 terminated
projects.) For example, an EPA project to create a marsh using
dredged sediment was terminated in 2005 because of problems with
land rights and technical difficulties building the marshland and
finding the sediment. Similarly, a NMFS project to restore a
marshland was terminated in 1998 when officials determined the
project area was so degraded that the project design was not
cost-effective. Most project terminations took place in the first
10 years of the CWPPRA program, whereas just 3 projects have been
terminated in the past 5 years. As of June 2007, however, 17
projects were delayed due to problems such as land rights, oyster
leases, and uncertain benefits of the project design, and CWPPRA
officials told us that some of these projects may also be
terminated if these issues cannot be resolved.
Project Costs Vary Significantly, and Most Restored Wetlands Are
Generally Expected to Erode over Time
The cost of CWPPRA projects varies considerably by project type,
and most projects require a continuous source of funding to
maintain them and ensure that they will deliver benefits over
their expected lifetime. Projects to plant marsh plants have
averaged about $9,000 per acre, while projects to restore barrier
islands have averaged more than $54,000 per acre. Some projects,
such as freshwater reintroduction projects, have averaged $11,400
per acre because they covered a larger area and only required the
construction of structures, such as culverts and gates. In
contrast, officials said freshwater reintroduction projects are
relatively less expensive to operate and cost little to maintain
because they are generally self-sustaining.
Most CWPPRA projects are generally designed to be maintained in a
manner that will protect wetlands and reduce land loss for a
20-year period. Maintenance activities may include replacing rock
on a shoreline protection project and repairing routine damage to
structures, such as a small dam, on a hydrologic restoration
project. As of September 2007, the CWPPRA task force plans to
spend an estimated $265 million on operations and maintenance over
the life of projects currently in design, under construction, and
completed. Despite these maintenance efforts, restored and
protected acreage is also subject to the effects of rising seas,
subsidence, and erosion that are experienced by naturally
occurring wetlands. As a result, most restored and protected
wetlands also are generally expected to lose acreage over time,
particularly areas that experience high waves from the Gulf, such
as restored barrier islands. In some cases, these natural effects
preclude the feasibility of certain maintenance. For example,
federal agencies may add vegetation or replace sand fences to
maintain barrier island restoration projects, but they do not add
dredged material to repair erosion. According to agency officials,
the high cost of replenishing dredged material on these projects,
and the high rate of erosion caused by waves from the Gulf of
Mexico, make this kind of maintenance impractical. While barrier
islands are expected to continue to erode, agency officials told
us that protecting these islands provides a certain level of
protection to developed areas and marshes behind the islands, even
if only for the short term.
Accomplishments and Challenges to Restoring Louisiana's Coastal
Wetlands Provide Lessons Learned for Future Restoration Efforts
Past efforts to restore and protect Louisiana's coastal wetlands
offer important lessons that can help guide future restoration
plans and strategies. In particular, agency officials attributed
the CWPPRA program's progress in restoring and protecting wetlands
primarily to the effective interagency collaboration that exists
among the participating agencies. However, the CWPPRA program has
also faced several challenges such as increasing project costs,
limited capability to monitor project effectiveness, and the need
to acquire private landowner rights, which are likely to be issues
that will extend to the larger and more complex restoration
efforts currently being planned.
Agency Officials Consider an Interagency Structure and Collaborative
Process a Key to Restoring Coastal Wetlands
Officials from Louisiana and the five CWPPRA agencies that have
collaborated on Louisiana's coastal wetlands projects generally
told us they believe that the CWPPRA program's unique interagency
approach and processes have been critical to designing and
constructing a range of projects in the region. To improve
collaboration, the CWPPRA task force formed committees and
technical work groups with members from the federal agencies and
Louisiana to assist in each phase of restoration development and
implementation. (See fig. 14 for the organization of the CWPPRA
task force.) The multiagency task force, along with its committees
and work groups, brings together biologists, other scientists,
civil engineers, economists, and other technical experts to
provide the collective experience and expertise needed to review
project cost estimates, designs, schedules, and work plans.
Figure 14: Organization of the CWPPRA Task Force
Through semiannual budgetary task force meetings, the members
review and approve projects to begin design or construction.
Officials told us that this review process has been critical to
designing and constructing projects that are cost-effective,
environmentally sound, and technically feasible. For example,
during a project's design phase, agency officials present project
design proposals to the environmental and engineering work groups
for review and comment on the feasibility of the design, the
validity of the assumptions, and strategies for success. The task
force also requires reviews at various points during a project's
development, particularly during the early stages of project
design and again when design is nearing completion. During these
reviews, federal agency and Louisiana officials meet to review and
discuss project designs, cost estimates, and restoration benefits.
Some CWPPRA officials told us that these project design reviews
are key to resolving potential problems and identifying project
cost growth as early as possible.
In November, the Congress passed the Water Resources Development
Act of 2007 which includes authorizations for various Corps
projects and studies for the restoration of coastal Louisiana.
This act also established a task force comprised of
representatives from nine federal agencies and Louisiana to make
recommendations to the Secretary of the Army on plans and programs
for the protection and restoration of the Louisiana coast. The act
authorizes the task force to establish working groups--similar to
those used by the CWPRRA task force--to integrate the planning,
design, and implementation of various Corps projects for flood
control, coastal restoration, and hurricane protection and provide
a broad range of expertise and representation from Louisiana and
local governments.
Restoration Efforts Face Various Planning and Implementation Challenges
In designing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and monitoring
projects, the CWPPRA program continues to face challenges,
including increasing project costs, limited capability to assess
project effectiveness, the need to address private landowner
rights, uncertain project performance, and damage from hurricanes
and storms. As larger and more complex restoration efforts are
planned for the future, we believe that they too are likely to
face similar challenges and will, therefore, need to consider how
to resolve these issues as part of their project development and
implementation processes.
Increasing project costs. The costs of constructing and
maintaining many CWPPRA projects have increased beyond their
original estimates and, as a result, fewer projects are being
designed and constructed. According to CWPPRA agency officials,
costs for construction, operations, and maintenance have increased
25 to 50 percent above estimates since the 2005 hurricanes. Fuel
cost increases, for example, have increased the cost to provide
building materials, such as rock and sand, especially when such
material is not available locally in sufficient quantities. NRCS
officials told us there are not any rock quarries in Louisiana so
that rock must be purchased and transported from out of state.
Similarly, federal agency officials told us that sand suitable for
constructing projects is not available locally in sufficient
quantities and must be dredged and transported to project sites.
In one instance, EPA initiated a project to demonstrate the
feasibility of dredging sand deposits 8 miles from shore in the
Gulf of Mexico to provide the material needed to restore a barrier
island. Officials also told us that the cost of building
materials, such as rock which is often used to construct shoreline
protection projects, has increased since the 2005 hurricanes.
Finally, costs to construct, operate, and maintain projects have
also increased due to increasing labor costs. For example, NRCS
officials told us that the need for specialized contract labor,
such as contractors with the capability to work in water, has
increased project costs.
These unexpected cost increases have impacted the overall
implementation of CWPPRA projects in a variety of ways. First, it
has delayed project construction for new CWPPRA projects. As of
October 2007, there were 10 fully designed CWPPRA projects
awaiting almost $190 million in funds to begin construction. Funds
to construct these projects were not available because their
estimated costs exceeded the annual amount of program funds
available for new construction, and funds were needed to pay
higher costs for construction, operations, and maintenance of
other projects. Second, because of the potential for funding
shortfalls, the task force has been approving fewer projects to
begin design and engineering. Since 1990, the task force has
approved an average of about 12 projects per year to begin design
and engineering. Since October 2002, however, the task force has
approved 5 or fewer projects per year to begin design and
engineering. Finally, cost increases for ongoing projects have
limited the number of demonstration projects that the CWPPRA
program has been able to undertake. The task force did not approve
any demonstration projects in 2004 and 2005 even though the
authorizing legislation considered this an important aspect of the
program. In 2006, the task force approved 1 demonstration project
after it decided to consider funding 1 per year, as long as the
demonstration project did not exceed $2 million in total costs.
Limited monitoring and assessment capabilities. Although CWPPRA
requires the task force to evaluate the effectiveness of each
project following construction, it lacks a coast-wide monitoring
program to assess the overall effectiveness of these projects to
restore coastal wetlands. Further, according to the CWPPRA task
force, it has been unable to fully assess individual project
performance due to the limited availability and/or usefulness of
monitoring data. According to Louisiana and USGS officials, as of
October 2007, Louisiana, USGS, and the CWPPRA federal agencies
have developed 85 project monitoring plans. Louisiana and USGS
have monitored all constructed projects, and Louisiana has
prepared many monitoring reports that are available on its Web
site. For example, to monitor an FWS hydrologic restoration
project, Louisiana officials measured the ratio of open water to
land, salinity, and vegetation composition and reported these
measurements compared with preconstruction levels. CWPPRA agency
officials told us that they have used monitoring data and reports
to assess project performance and adjust project designs, as
needed. However, according to the task force and a USGS official,
most monitoring reports have provided incomplete and inconsistent
data so that officials have not been able to perform the kinds of
statistical analysis needed to fully evaluate project
effectiveness.
In 1998, a study of coastal restoration prepared by Louisiana
concluded that there was a need for coast-wide monitoring to
assess the overall effectiveness of coastal restoration and
protection projects. Since 2003, USGS and Louisiana have been
working with the CWPPRA task force to develop such a coast-wide
system. This system is expected to collect data on changes in
levels of salinity, water levels, and vegetation and sedimentation
in marshlands, as well as monitor the cumulative and wide-ranging
effects of multiple CWPPRA projects and help project managers
design more effective and better integrated restoration projects.
The planned system includes 390 randomly located monitoring
stations installed across 3.67 million acres of coastal Louisiana
and all stations are expected to be fully operational by the
spring of 2008. As of October 2007, 256 of 390 monitoring stations
were installed and collecting data. According to officials, the
process to implement the system has taken longer than expected due
to the time required to design and implement a coast-wide system,
survey lands and obtain land rights agreements, and fund the
construction of hundreds of monitoring platforms due to rising
construction costs. Until a coast-wide monitoring system is fully
operational and providing reliable data, federal agencies and the
task force will not be able to evaluate whether coastal
restoration projects are collectively restoring the Louisiana
coast and if these efforts are having adverse unintended effects.
Further, even when all monitoring stations are collecting data,
CWPPRA and USGS officials estimated the system will not provide
multiyear data needed to assess certain restoration trends, such
as sediment elevation tables, for another 5 to 10 years.
Private land ownership issues. Because coastal Louisiana is about
85 percent privately owned, state agency officials, in some cases,
have spent a significant amount of time locating landowners to
obtain approval to construct CWPPRA projects. For example,
according to NMFS officials, one marsh creation and terracing
project area had about 1,500 individual landowners, and it was a
challenge to locate all of the landowners and obtain permission to
construct the project on their land. More often, NMFS and other
CWPPRA agency officials told us that they have had to contact from
1 to 100 landowners to obtain approval to begin a project.
According to various federal agency officials, obtaining access
from landowners has significantly delayed the design process for
some projects, sometimes to such an extent that they became
concerned that the project might not be feasible because of
difficulties locating landowners and obtaining land rights
agreements. Most federal agency officials also told us that
landrights issues are eventually resolved, however, and projects
are designed and engineered.
Implementing a project on commercially owned lands can also
present problems, particularly because in Louisiana they often
have infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines, canals, and
rail lines constructed on them. To restore coastal wetlands on
commercially owned lands, federal agencies or commercial
landowners have relocated or temporarily moved infrastructure to
construct projects. In some instances where federal agencies have
moved commercial infrastructure, moving costs significantly
increased the cost of the CWPPRA project. For example, when Corps
officials realized a sediment diversion project could not be
constructed without disrupting nearby infrastructure, they
proposed relocating two pipelines and two power poles, which would
have increased project costs by more than $2.15 million. Largely
in response to these cost increases, the Corps eventually decided
to terminate the project. On another sediment diversion project,
Corps officials told us that they relocated a pipeline so that it
would not be in open water. However, in this case, the pipeline
owner reimbursed the Corps for relocating the pipeline, and
construction of the project was able to proceed and be completed
in 2003.
In Louisiana, commercial fishermen may also lease publicly owned
lands, known as water bottoms and, based on lessons learned from
recent court decisions and legislative activity, Louisiana
officials told us it is important to notify project sponsors as
early as possible about leases of public lands so that project
designs can take these into account. In 2000, a Louisiana state
court ruled that the Caernarvon diversion project--a project that
diverts freshwater from the Mississippi River to restore
freshwater wetlands--had altered the salinity levels and damaged
or destroyed oyster beds in state-owned waters that had been
leased to commercial fishermen and were near the project. A jury
awarded over $1 billion to the oyster leaseholders in a ruling
against the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.^11 In 2004,
the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the lower
courts, concluding that the state was not liable for changes in
water salinity due to restoration projects, and the oyster
fishermen's claim was dismissed.^12 However, in 2006, the
Louisiana state legislature passed a new law clarifying that
oyster leaseholders generally may not sue the state or the federal
government for claims arising from projects, plans, acts, or
activities related to coastal protection, conservation, or
restoration. The new law also established an acquisition and
compensation program for oyster leaseholders if dredging or soil
placement occurs on leased lands as a result of coastal
protection, conservation, or restoration projects.^13 As a result
of these developments, during the early stages of a CWPPRA project
design, Louisiana provides a map to federal agencies indicating
any oyster leases that could be potentially affected by the
project. Louisiana also provides data on the leases such as
acreage and the name of the lessee so that federal agencies may
fully consider existing commercial fishing leases when designing
projects.
Uncertainty of project performance. Some projects simply fail to
perform as designed for reasons largely beyond the designers'
control. A number of uncertainties that cannot always be fully
modeled or predicted when designing a project can cause a project
to be unsuccessful. A CWPPRA official told us that uncertain
landscape features such as drainage patterns, earthen deposits,
and soil content have prevented some projects from restoring an
area as planned. For example, the Davis Pond Diversion--a
structure comprised of large culverts built by the Corps to divert
freshwater from the Mississippi River to restore nearby
wetlands--releases less than half the amount of water it was
designed to release. This has happened because landscape features
prevented the water from flowing to the wetland areas as
anticipated, and the flows cannot be increased because they might
flood nearby private developments. According to Corps officials,
however, most of these unanticipated problems have been corrected
and officials expect water flow to increase to design levels by
2009. Although the Davis Pond Diversion project is not a CWPPRA
project, some CWPPRA projects have also not performed as designed.
For example, a NMFS-sponsored CWPPRA project to repair a breach in
a barrier island was unable to reconnect the two portions of the
island because the rate of erosion had reached a point where the
landscape could no longer be sustained. Additionally, a Corps
project constructed in 1996 designed to restore 445 acres of
marshland has been able to restore only 9 acres of vegetated
wetlands because oyster leases in or adjacent to the project site
prevented the use of dredged material to sufficiently elevate the
marsh, causing the area to be flooded with saline water and
restricting marsh growth. Finally, of the 20 CWPPRA projects
terminated since 1990, 8 were terminated due to technical
difficulties and design problems. For example, agency officials
terminated a terracing project after concluding that it would not
be technically feasible to construct terraces on the land due to
poor sediment quality. However, some agency officials also told us
that uncertain project performance may be anticipated, and it is
not uncommon to change project designs after implementation to
address problems.
^11The appellate court affirmed this ruling, but slightly increased the
damage award. Avenal v. State of Louisiana, Dep't of Natural Res., 858 So.
2d 697 (La. Ct. App. 2003).
^12Avenal v. State of Louisiana, Department of Natural Resources, 886 So.
2d 1085 (La. 2004).
^13H.B. 1249, 2006 Leg., Reg. Sass. (La. 2006).
Setbacks as a result of storm damage. Hurricanes can cause
significant damage to coastal areas, including both naturally
occurring and restored wetlands. For example, although Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita did not directly hit and, therefore, cause
significant damage to most CWPPRA projects, it destroyed tens of
thousands of naturally occurring and other restored wetlands in
the region. In particular, Hurricane Katrina destroyed about
25,000 acres of restored and naturally occurring wetlands on the
Caernarvon Project. The Caernarvon Project includes a large
diversion structure constructed by the Corps in 1991 that diverts
water and sediment from the Mississippi River to restore nearby
wetlands. Although the Caernarvon Project is not a CWPPRA project,
it is similar to some ongoing CWPPRA projects, and the damage that
was inflicted by the hurricanes to this project demonstrates the
vulnerability of restored areas to storms. With regard to the
CWPPRA projects, storm surge from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
damaged 18 of the 90 CWPPRA projects completed or under
construction. Typical storm damage included sand fences torn away,
storm debris scattered about, and water control structures that
were overtopped. According to officials, 16 of the 18 damaged
projects appeared to function as designed, but 2 were so damaged
that officials considered them inoperable. Officials told us that
plans were in place to repair the 2 inoperable projects but, as of
July 2007, repairs had not begun.
In this context, a draft report by the Association of State
Wetland Managers^14 noted that although both freshwater and
saltwater marshes in Louisiana sustained significant damage from
recent hurricanes and storms, freshwater marshlands suffered more
long-lasting effects. In many cases, canals and other flood
protection structures have cut off freshwater marshes from
freshwater and sediment, such as rivers, so that freshwater
marshlands are unable to repair themselves. Sediment is necessary
for the recovery of freshwater marshlands. In these cases, the
study concluded that freshwater marshes may not heal following a
hurricane or storm so that some form of restoration effort may be
necessary.
Concluding Observations
Since 1990, CWPPRA projects have made an important first step to
reducing land loss and ecosystem deterioration in Louisiana by
protecting and restoring about 3 percent of the state's coastal
areas. However, this level of effort is inadequate to stop coastal
wetland losses that are projected to occur over the next 50 years,
much less restore the coastal landscape to the condition it was in
prior to the 1950s before levees and other flood control
structures were constructed to control the Mississippi River. In
light of recent proposals to restore and protect all of the
roughly 2.5 million acres of Louisiana coastal wetlands through a
comprehensive system of large-scale restoration projects and
strategies that will receive billions of dollars over at least 20
years, it is important that planners carefully consider the
lessons learned from the experiences of the CWPPRA program. As the
CWPPRA experience has demonstrated, restoration projects are
subject to the same forces of erosion and subsidence as natural
wetlands and, therefore, the long-term sustainability of these
projects is dependent on the continuous infusion of resources for
decades into the future. As recognized by the Water Resources
Development Act of 2007, establishing an interagency approach and
consultative process similar to that of the CWPPRA program is
vital to ensuring that large-scale wetlands restoration efforts
are developed in a comprehensive manner using the most
cost-effective approaches. Also, critical to assessing the success
of these efforts is the design and implementation of a
comprehensive monitoring program. Even after 17 years, such a
program has not been fully developed and implemented for the
CWPPRA projects and, therefore, a comprehensive assessment of the
projects constructed to date is still not possible. Finally,
restoration project planners must take into account various
uncertainties that could impact the successful implementation of
projects and could lead to project delays and cost increases. As
the CWPPRA experience demonstrates, not all of these uncertainties
can be predicted in advance, however, a well-developed project
implementation strategy that includes mechanisms to address these
kinds of uncertainties as and when they arise is more likely to be
successful.
^14Kusler, Jon. Draft of "Wetlands and Natural Hazards." 2007.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
We provided a copy of this report to the Departments of
Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, the Interior, and EPA for review
and comment.
EPA agreed with our findings and observations and emphasized the
importance of the collaborative approach used by the CWPPPRA
agencies to provide for an effective program for coastal
restoration. See appendix III for EPA's letter.
The Department of Commerce provided comments on behalf of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in which it stated
that our report was generally accurate and thorough. However, the
agency also stated that the report's characterization of CWPPRA
monitoring efforts was misleading because it suggested that the
program is not able to assess the success of constructed projects.
Although the agency acknowledged that proving project success
based on statistical and scientific analysis is a challenge
because long-term data are not generally available, it also
emphasized that current efforts to monitor projects offer critical
insights into project performance. While we disagree that our
description of the CWPPRA monitoring efforts was misleading, we
have revised the report to clarify some of the issues raised by
the agency. The Department of Commerce also provided technical
comments, which we incorporated throughout our report as
appropriate. The Department of Commerce's letter can be found in
appendix II.
The Department of Defense provided only technical comments, which
we incorporated throughout the report as appropriate. The
Departments of Agriculture and the Interior did not provide
comments on this report.
We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of
Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, the Interior; and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and
interested congressional committees. We also will make copies
available to others upon request. In addition, the report will be
available, at no charge, on the GAO Web site at
[18]http://www.gao.gov .
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-3841 or [email protected]. Contact points
for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may
be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff that made
major contributions to this report are listed in appendix IV.
Anu K. Mittal
Director, Natural Resources and Environment
List of Congressional Addressees
The Honorable Peter J. Visclosky:
Chairman:
The Honorable David L. Hobson:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies:
Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives:
The Honorable Norm D. Dicks:
Chairman:
The Honorable Todd Tiahrt:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies:
Committee on Appropriations:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Richard H. Baker:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment:
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Mary L. Landrieu:
United States Senate:
Appendix I: Summary Schedules of CWPPRA Projects
This appendix contains tables listing Coastal Wetlands Planning,
Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) projects in design and
engineering (see table 1), under construction (see table 2),
completed construction (see table 3), and terminated (see table 4)
as of June 2007.
Table 1: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects in Design and Engineering as
of June 2007
Anticipated Project
Agency total approval Total cost
Project name sponsor Project type acres^a date estimate
1. Alligator Bend Marsh Corps Marsh creation 330 Oct. $19,620,813
Restoration and 2006
Shoreline Protection
2. Southwest Louisiana Corps Shoreline 888 Oct. 36,922,487
Gulf Shoreline protection 2006
Nourishment and
Protection
3. Enhancement of EPA Vegetative Data not Oct. 919,599
Barrier Island planting applicable 2006
Vegetation
Demonstration
4. Madison Bay Marsh NMFS Marsh creation 372 Oct. 32,353,377
Creation and 2006
Terracing
5. West Belle Pass NMFS Marsh creation 299 Oct. 32,563,747
Barrier Headland 2006
Restoration Project
6. Lake Hermitage Marsh FWS Marsh creation 438 Feb. 32,673,327
Creation 2006
7. Bayou Lamoque Corps Freshwater 620 Feb. 5,375,741
Freshwater Diversion reintroduction 2006
8. Venice Ponds Marsh EPA Marsh creation 511 Feb. 8,992,955
Creation and 2006
Crevasses
9. South Pecan Island NMFS Hydrologic 98 Feb. 4,438,695
Freshwater restoration 2006
Introduction
10. East Marsh Island EPA Marsh creation 189 Feb. 16,824,999
Marsh Creation 2005
11. South Shore of the NRCS Shoreline 116 Feb. 17,513,780
Pen Shoreline protection 2005
Protection and Marsh
Creation
12. White Ditch NRCS Freshwater 189 Feb. 14,845,193
Resurrection reintroduction 2005
13. Riverine Sand NMFS Barrier island 234 Feb. 44,544,636
Mining/Scofield restoration 2005
Island Restoration
14. Goose Point/Point FWS Marsh creation 436 Jan. 20,867,777
Platte Marsh Creation 2004
15. Bayou Sale Shoreline NRCS Shoreline 329 Jan. 32,103,020
Protection protection 2004
16. Spanish Pass Corps Sediment 433 Jan. 14,212,169
Diversion diversion 2004
17. Whiskey Island Back EPA Barrier island 272 Jan. 22,243,934
Barrier Marsh restoration 2004
Creation
Anticipated Project
Agency total approval Total cost
Project name sponsor Project type acres^a date estimate
18. Mississippi River Corps Sediment and 1,190 Jan. 52,180,839
Sediment Trap nutrient 2003
trapping
19. Avoca Island Corps Sediment 143 Jan. 18,823,322
Diversion and Land diversion 2003
Building
20. Bayou Dupont Sediment EPA Marsh creation 400 Jan. 24,925,734
Delivery System 2003
21. Lake Borgne and Corps Shoreline 266 Jan. 22,748,889
Mississippi River protection 2003
Gulf Outlet Shoreline
Protection
22. Ship Shoal: Whiskey EPA Barrier island 195 Jan. 42,918,821
West Flank restoration 2002
Restoration
23. West Lake Boudreaux FWS Shoreline 277 Jan. 19,585,055
Shoreline Protection protection 2002
and Marsh Creation
24. River Reintroduction EPA Freshwater 5,438 Jan. 57,815,647
into Maurepas Swamp reintroduction 2002
25. South Grand Chenier FWS Hydrologic 440 Jan. 19,930,316
Hydrologic restoration 2002
Restoration
26. Grand Lake Shoreline Corps Shoreline 540 Jan. 11,811,039
Protection protection 2002
27. Pass Chaland to Grand NMFS Barrier island 263 Jan. 30,217,567
Bayou Pass Barrier restoration 2002
Shoreline Restoration
28. Dedicated Dredging on FWS Marsh creation 605 Jan. 15,842,343
the Barataria Basin 2002
Landbridge
29. Lake Borgne Shoreline EPA Shoreline 165 Jan. 25,581,099
Protection protection 2001
30. Terrebonne Bay Shore FWS Shoreline Data not Jan. 2,503,768
Protection protection applicable 2001
Demonstration
31. Small Freshwater EPA Freshwater 941 Jan. 13,803,361
Diversion to the reintroduction 2001
Northwestern
Barataria Basin
32. Delta Building Corps Sediment 501 Jan. 6,297,286
Diversion North of diversion 2001
Fort St. Philip
33. Rockefeller Refuge NMFS Shoreline 920 Jan. 50,408,478
Gulf Shoreline protection 2001
Stabilization
34. Benneys Bay Diversion Corps Sediment 5,706 Jan. 53,702,881
diversion 2001
35. Gulf Intracoastal NRCS Shoreline 366 Jan. 29,987,641
Waterway Bank protection 2001
Restoration of
Critical Areas in
Terrebonne
36. Delta Building Corps Sediment 8,891 Jan. 3,002,114
Diversion at Myrtle diversion 2001
Grove
37. East Grand Terre NMFS Barrier island 335 Jan. 31,226,531
Island Restoration restoration 2000
38. Little Pecan Bayou NRCS Hydrologic 144 Jan. 14,597,263
Hydrologic restoration 2000
Restoration
Anticipated Project
Agency total approval Total cost
Project name sponsor Project type acres^a date estimate
39. South Lake Decade NRCS Shoreline 201 Jan. 3,873,744
Freshwater protection 2000
Introduction
40. Opportunistic Use of Corps Freshwater 177 Jan. 1,121,757
the Bonnet Carre reintroduction 2000
Spillway
41. Freshwater Bayou Bank Corps Shoreline 241 Jan. 17,756,468
Stabilization-Belle protection 2000
Isle Canal to Lock
42. Periodic Introduction Corps Sediment Jan. 1,502,817
of Sediment and diversion 2000
Nutrients at Selected
Diversion Sites Data not
Demonstration applicable
43. Castille Pass Channel NMFS Sediment 577 Jan. 19,657,695
Sediment Delivery diversion 2000
44. Weeks Bay Marsh Corps Shoreline 278 Jan. 30,027,305
Creation and Shore protection 2000
Protection/Commercial
Canal/Freshwater
Redirection
45. LaBranche Wetlands NMFS Terracing 489 Jan. 8,828,343
Terracing, Planting, 2000
and Shoreline
Protection
46. Sabine Refuge Marsh Corps Marsh creation 261 Jan. 9,490,000
Creation, Part Two of 1999
Five
47. Sabine Refuge Marsh Corps Marsh creation 163 Jan. 0
Creation, Part Four 1999
of Five
48. Sabine Refuge Marsh Corps Marsh creation 168 Jan. 0
Creation, Part Five 1999
of Five
49. Lake Boudreaux FWS Freshwater 603 Apr. 10,519,383
Freshwater reintroduction 1997
Introduction
50. Penchant Basin NRCS Hydrologic 1,155 Apr. 14,455,551
Natural Resources restoration 1997
Plan, Part One
51. Grand Bayou FWS Hydrologic 199 Feb. 8,209,722
Hydrologic restoration 1996
Restoration
52. Mississippi River EPA Freshwater 988 Oct. 11,200,000
Reintroduction into reintroduction 2001
Bayou Lafourche
53. Myrtle Grove Siphon NMFS Freshwater 1,119 Feb. 481,803
reintroduction 1996
54. West Pointe a la NRCS Outfall 1,087 Oct. 4,068,045
Hache Outfall management 1993
Management
55. Brown Lake Hydrologic NRCS Hydrologic 282 Oct. 4,002,363
Restoration restoration 1992
56. Storm Recovery FWS Operation and Data not Oct. 303,359
Assessment Fund maintenance applicable 2006
57. Monitoring FWS Monitoring Data not Dec. 1,500,000
Contingency Fund applicable 1999
Grand total 41,468 $1,051,924,598
Source: GAO analysis of Corps data.
Note: Data as of June 8, 2007.
^aThe CWPPRA program does not report acreage for demonstration projects.
Demonstration projects test new techniques and materials for the
restoration or protection of coastal wetlands. Other projects, such as the
FWS' Storm Recovery Assessment Fund and Monitoring Contingency Fund, are
projects that support the CWPPRA program.
Table 2: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects under Construction as of June
2007
Anticipated Project Current
Agency Project total approval total cost Construction
Project name sponsor type acres^a date estimate start date
1. Coastwide Reference FWS Monitoring Data not Aug. $66,890,300 Aug. 2003
Monitoring System applicable 2003
for Wetlands
2. Freshwater Floating NRCS Marsh Data not Jan. 1,080,891 Jul. 2004
Marsh Creation creation applicable 2003
Demonstration
3. Coastwide Nutria NRCS Invasive 14,963 Jan. 68,864,870 Nov. 2002
Control Program species 2002
control
program
4. Little Lake NMFS Shoreline 713 Jan. 38,496,395 Aug. 2005
Shoreline protection 2002
Protection/Dedicated
Dredging near Round
Lake
5. Raccoon Island NRCS Barrier 167 Jan. 10,609,834 Dec. 2005
Shoreline island 2002
Protection/Marsh restoration
Creation, Part Two
6. Barataria Barrier NMFS Barrier 534 Jan. 67,349,433 Mar. 2006
Island: Pelican island 2002
Island and Pass La restoration
Mer to Chaland Pass
7. North Lake Mechant FWS Marsh 604 Jan. 30,952,917 Apr. 2003
Landbridge creation 2001
Restoration
8. East Sabine Lake FWS Hydrologic 225 Jan. 6,490,751 Dec. 2004
Hydrologic restoration 2001
Restoration^b
9. Barataria Basin NRCS Shoreline 264 Jan. 34,151,587 Oct. 2003
Landbridge Shoreline protection 2000
Protection, Part
Three
10. Timbalier Island EPA Barrier 273 Jan. 16,726,000 Jun. 2004
Dune and Marsh island 2000
Restoration^b restoration
11. Black Bayou Culverts NRCS Hydrologic 540 Jan. 6,091,675 May 2005
Hydrologic restoration 2000
Restoration
12. New Cut Dune and EPA Barrier 102 Jan. 13,158,878 Oct. 2006
Marsh Restoration island 2000
restoration
13. Sabine Refuge Marsh Corps Marsh 187 Jan. 4,536,666 Oct. 2006
Creation, Part Three creation 1999
of Five
14. Barataria Basin NRCS Shoreline 1,304 Jan. 31,288,623 Dec. 2000
Landbridge Shoreline protection 1998
Protection, Part One
and Two
15. West Belle Pass Corps Shoreline 474 Oct. 6,751,441 Feb. 1998
Headland Restoration protection 1992
16. Jonathan Davis NRCS Hydrologic 510 Oct. 28,886,616 Jun. 1998
Wetland Restoration restoration 1992
Grand total 20,860 $432,326,877
Source: GAO analysis of Corps data.
Note: Data as of June 8, 2007.
aThe CWPPRA program does not report acreage for demonstration projects.
Demonstration projects test new techniques and materials for the
restoration or protection of coastal wetlands. Other projects, such as the
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System for Wetlands, support the CWPPRA
program.
bDamaged by Hurricane Rita in 2005.
Table 3: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects Completed as of June 2007
Anticipated Project Current Construction
Agency total approval total cost completion
Project name sponsor Project type acres^a date estimate date
1. Shoreline Corps Shoreline Data not Jan. $1,055,000 Aug. 2006
Protection protection applicable 2004
Foundation
Improvements
Demonstration
2. South White Lake Corps Shoreline 844 Jan. 19,673,929 Aug. 2006
Shoreline protection 2003
Protection
3. Holly Beach Sand NRCS Shoreline 330 Jan. 14,130,233 Mar. 2003
Management^b protection 2002
4. Barataria Basin NRCS Shoreline 256 Jan. 21,457,097 Apr. 2006
Landbridge protection 2002
Shoreline
Protection, Part
Four
5. Delta Management at FWS Sediment 267 Jan. 3,183,940 Dec. 2006
Fort St. Philip diversion 2001
6. Grand-White Lake FWS Shoreline 213 Jan. 8,584,334 Oct. 2004
Landbridge protection 2001
Restoration
7. State of Louisiana EPA Conservation Data not Dec. 191,807 Nov. 1997
Wetlands plan applicable 2000
Conservation Plan
8. Freshwater FWS Hydrologic 296 Jan. 6,203,110 Dec. 2006
Introduction South restoration 2000
of Highway 82
9. Mandalay Bank FWS Shoreline Data not Jan. 1,767,214 Sept. 2003
Protection protection applicable 2000
Demonstration
10. Chandeleur Islands NMFS Vegetative 220 Jan. 937,977 Jul. 2001
Marsh Restoration planting 2000
11. Four Mile Canal NMFS Terracing 167 Jan. 4,886,818 May 2004
Terracing and 2000
Sediment Trapping
12. Perry Ridge West NRCS Shoreline 83 Jan. 3,747,742 Jul. 2002
Bank Stabilization protection 2000
13. Sabine Refuge Marsh Corps Marsh 214 Jan. 3,421,671 Feb. 2002
Creation, Part One creation 1999
of Five
14. Hopedale Hydrologic NMFS Hydrologic 134 Jan. 2,432,958 Jan. 2005
Restoration^b restoration 1999
15. Humble Canal NRCS Hydrologic 378 Jan. 1,530,812 Mar. 2003
Hydrologic restoration 1999
Restoration^b
16. Lake Portage Land NRCS Hydrologic 24 Jan. 1,181,129 May 2004
Bridge restoration 1999
17. Grand Terre NMFS Vegetative 127 Jan. 492,774 Jul. 2001
Vegetative planting 1998
Plantings
18. Pecan Island NMFS Terracing 442 Jan. 2,391,953 Sept. 2003
Terracing 1998
19. Thin Mat Floating NRCS Marsh Data not Jan. 538,101 May 2000
Marsh Enhancement creation applicable 1998
Demonstration
20. Flexible Dustpan Corps Marsh Data not Apr. 1,911,487 Jun. 2002
Demo at Head of creation applicable 1997
Passes
Demonstration
21. Marsh Island Corps Hydrologic 408 Apr. 5,143,288 Dec. 2001
Hydrologic restoration 1997
Restoration^b
22. Nutria Harvest for FWS Invasive Data not Apr. 804,683 Oct. 2003
Wetland Restoration species applicable 1997
Demonstration control
program
23. Black Bayou NMFS Hydrologic 3,594 Apr. 5,972,613 Nov. 2003
Hydrologic restoration 1997
Restoration
24. Delta Wide NMFS Sediment 2,386 Apr. 4,752,653 May 2005
Crevasses diversion 1997
25. Sediment Trapping NMFS Sediment and 1,999 Apr. 3,392,135 May 2005
at The Jaws nutrient 1997
trapping
26. Barataria Bay NRCS Shoreline 217 Apr. 5,224,477 May 2001
Waterway East Side protection 1997
Shoreline
Protection
27. Cheniere au Tigre NRCS Sediment and Data not Apr. 624,999 Nov. 2001
Sediment Trapping nutrient applicable 1997
Demonstration trapping
28. Oaks/Avery Canal NRCS Hydrologic 160 Apr. 2,925,216 Oct. 2002
Hydrologic restoration 1997
Restoration, Part
One
29. Bayou Chevee Corps Shoreline 75 Feb. 2,589,403 Dec. 2001
Shoreline protection 1996
Protection
30. Little Vermilion NMFS Sediment and 441 Feb. 886,030 Aug. 1999
Bay Sediment nutrient 1996
Trapping trapping
31. Freshwater Bayou NRCS Shoreline 511 Feb. 2,543,313 Jun. 1998
Bank Stabilization protection 1996
32. Naomi Outfall NRCS Outfall 633 Feb. 2,181,427 Jul. 2002
Management management 1996
33. Raccoon Island NRCS Shoreline Data not Feb. 1,795,388 Jul. 1997
Breakwaters protection applicable 1996
Demonstration
34. Sweet Lake/Willow NRCS Shoreline 247 Feb. 4,242,995 Oct. 2002
Lake Hydrologic protection 1996
Restoration
35. East Timbalier NMFS Barrier 215 Dec. 7,600,863 Jan. 2000
Island Sediment island 1994
Restoration, Part restoration
Two^b
36. Barataria Bay NRCS Shoreline 232 Dec. 3,013,365 Nov. 2000
Waterway West Side protection 1994
Shoreline
Protection
37. Perry Ridge Shore NRCS Shoreline 1,203 Dec. 2,289,090 Feb. 1999
Protection protection 1994
38. Plowed Terraces NRCS Terracing Data not Dec. 325,641 Aug. 2000
Demonstration applicable 1994
39. Channel Armor Gap Corps Sediment 936 Oct.1993 888,985 Nov. 1997
Crevasse diversion
40. Mississippi River Corps Hydrologic 755 Oct. 313,145 Jan. 1999
Gulf Outlet restoration 1993
Disposal Area Marsh
Protection
41. Whiskey Island EPA Barrier 1,239 Oct. 7,106,586 Jun. 2000
Restoration^b island 1993
restoration
42. Sabine Refuge FWS Hydrologic 953 Oct. 4,528,418 Sept. 2003
Structure restoration 1993
Replacement (Hog
Island)^b
43. East Timbalier NMFS Barrier 1,913 Oct. 3,729,587 May 2001
Island Sediment island 1993
Restoration, Part restoration
One^b
44. Lake Chapeau NMFS Marsh 509 Oct. 5,605,856 May 1999
Sediment Input and creation 1993
Hydrologic
Restoration
45. Lake Salvador Shore NMFS Shoreline Data not Oct. 2,801,782 Jun. 1998
Protection protection applicable 1993
Demonstration
46. Brady Canal NRCS Hydrologic 297 Oct. 5,279,558 May 2000
Hydrologic restoration 1993
Restoration
47. Cameron-Creole NRCS Hydrologic 2,602 Oct. 5,840,505 Sept. 1997
Maintenance^b restoration 1993
48. Cote Blanche NRCS Hydrologic 2,223 Oct. 7,889,103 Dec. 1998
Hydrologic restoration 1993
Restoration
49. Clear Marais Bank Corps Shoreline 1,067 Oct. 3,696,088 Mar. 1997
Protection protection 1992
50. Isles Dernieres EPA Barrier 109 Oct. 10,774,974 Jun. 1999
Restoration Trinity island 1992
Island^b restoration
51. Bayou Sauvage FWS Hydrologic 1,280 Oct. 1,642,552 May 1997
National Wildlife restoration 1992
Refuge Hydrologic
Restoration, Part
Two
52. Atchafalaya NMFS Sediment 2,232 Oct. 2,532,147 Mar. 1998
Sediment Delivery diversion 1992
53. Big Island Mining NMFS Marsh 1,560 Oct. 7,077,404 Oct. 1998
creation 1992
54. Point Au Fer Canal NMFS Shoreline 375 Oct. 3,235,208 May 1997
Plugs protection 1992
55. Caernarvon NRCS Outfall 802 Oct. 4,536,000 Jun. 2002
Diversion Outfall management 1992
Management^b
56. East Mud Lake Marsh NRCS Marsh 1,520 Oct. 4,095,936 Jun. 1996
Management^b management 1992
57. Freshwater Bayou NRCS Shoreline 1,593 Oct. 3,455,303 Aug. 1998
Wetland Protection protection 1992
58. Fritchie Marsh NRCS Hydrologic 1,040 Oct. 2,201,674 Mar. 2001
Restoration restoration 1992
59. Highway 384 NRCS Hydrologic 150 Oct. 1,058,554 Jan. 2000
Hydrologic restoration 1992
Restoration^b
60. Vermilion NRCS Shoreline 378 Oct. 1,012,649 Nov. 1995
Bay/Boston Canal protection 1992
Shore Protection
61. Barataria Bay Corps Marsh 445 Oct. 1,172,896 Oct. 1996
Waterway Wetland creation 1991
Creation
62. Bayou Labranche Corps Marsh 203 Oct. 3,817,929 Apr. 1994
Wetland Creation creation 1991
63. Lake Salvador Corps Shoreline Data not Oct. 58,753 Mar. 1996
Shoreline protection applicable 1991
Protection at Jean
Lafitte National
Historic Park and
Preserve
64. Vermilion River Corps Shoreline 65 Oct. 2,022,987 Feb. 1996
Cutoff Bank protection 1991
Protection
65. West Bay Sediment Corps Sediment 9,831 Oct. 22,312,761 Nov. 2003
Diversion diversion 1991
66. Isles Dernieres EPA Barrier 9 Oct. 8,762,416 Jun. 1999
Restoration East island 1991
Island^b restoration
67. Bayou Sauvage FWS Hydrologic 1,550 Oct. 1,630,193 May 1996
National Wildlife restoration 1991
Refuge Hydrologic
Restoration, Part
One
68. Cameron Creole FWS Hydrologic 865 Oct. 991,295 Jan. 1997
Plugs^b restoration 1991
69. Cameron Prairie FWS Shoreline 247 Oct. 1,227,123 Aug. 1994
National Wildlife protection 1991
Refuge Shoreline
Protection
70. Sabine National FWS Shoreline 5,542 Oct. 1,602,656 Mar. 1995
Wildlife Refuge protection 1991
Erosion Protection
71. Gulf Intracoastal NRCS Hydrologic 175 Oct, 8,916,131 Oct. 2000
Waterway to restoration 1991
Clovelly Hydrologic
Restoration^b
72. Vegetative NRCS Vegetative Data not Oct. 209,284 Dec. 1996
Plantings-Falgout planting applicable 1991
Canal Planting
Demonstration
73. Vegetative NRCS Vegetative Data not Oct. 293,124 Jul. 1996
Plantings-Timbalier planting applicable 1991
Island Planting
Demonstration
74. Vegetative NRCS Vegetative Data not Oct. 258,805 Mar. 1994
Plantings-West planting applicable 1991
Hackberry Planting
Demonstration
Grand total 58,781 $298,606,032
Source: GAO analysis of Corps data.
Note: Data as of June 8, 2007.
aThe CWPPRA program does not report acreage for demonstration projects.
Demonstration projects test new techniques and materials for the
restoration or protection of coastal wetlands. Other projects, such as the
state of Louisiana Wetlands Conservation Plan, support the CWPPRA program.
The Lake Salvador Shoreline Protection project at Jean Lafitte National
Historic Park and Preserve was designed under CWPPRA but construction was
funded by the National Park Service.
bDamaged by Hurricane Katrina or Rita in 2005.
Table 4: Summary Schedule of CWPPRA Projects Terminated as of June 2007
Project Project Current
Agency approval termination total cost Reason for
Project name sponsor Project type date date estimate termination
1. LA Highway 1 Marsh EPA Marsh creation Jan. Feb. 2005 $343,551 Cost-
Creation 2000 effectiveness,
technical
difficulties
2. Bayou L'Ours Ridge NRCS Hydrologic Dec. Apr. 2003 371,232 Land rights
Hydrologic Restoration restoration 1994
3. Upper Oak River NRCS Freshwater Jan. Jan. 2003 56,476 Cost-
Freshwater Siphon reintroduction 1999 effectiveness
4. Bayou Bienvenue Pump NMFS Terracing Jan. Apr. 2002 212,153 Cost-
Station Diversion and 1999 effectiveness
Terracing
5. Compost Demonstration EPA Marsh creation Dec. Jan. 2002 213,645 Technical
1994 difficulties
6. Red Mud Demonstration EPA Marsh creation Oct. Aug. 2001 470,500 Technical
1993 difficulties
7. Beneficial Use of Hopper Corps Marsh creation Dec. Oct. 2000 58,310 Technical
Dredge Material 1994 difficulties
Demonstration
8. Violet Freshwater NRCS Outfall Oct. Oct. 2000 128,627 Land rights
Distribution management 1993
9. Flotant Marsh Fencing NRCS Vegetation Dec. Oct. 2000 106,960 Technical
Demonstration planting 1994 difficulties
10. Southwest Shore White NRCS Shoreline Oct. Oct. 1998 103,468 Technical
Lake Demonstration protection 1993 difficulties
11. Pass-a-Loutre Crevasse Corps Sediment Oct. Jul. 1998 119,835 Cost-
diversion 1993 effectiveness
12. Grand Bay Crevasse Corps Sediment Dec. Jul. 1998 65,747 Land rights
diversion 1994
13. Marsh Creation East of Corps Marsh creation Apr. Jul. 1998 66,869 Cost-
the Atchafalaya 1997 effectiveness
River-Avoca Island
14. Bayou Boeuf Pump Station EPA Hydrologic Apr. Jul. 1998 3,452 Technical
restoration 1997 difficulties
15. Bayou Perot/Bayou NMFS Marsh creation Oct. Jan. 1998 20,963 Cost-
Rigolettes Marsh 1993 effectiveness
Restoration
16. Eden Isles East Marsh NMFS Hydrologic Dec. Jan. 1998 78,051 Land rights
Restoration restoration 1994
17. White's Ditch Outfall NRCS Outfall Oct. Jan. 1998 32,862 Land rights
Management management 1993
18. Lower Bayou LaCache NMFS Hydrologic Oct. Feb. 1996 99,625 Land rights
Hydrologic Restoration restoration 1991
19. Vegetation NRCS Vegetation Oct. Feb. 1996 184,024 Design
Plantings-Dewitt-Rollover planting 1991 problems
Planting Demonstration
20. Fourchon Hydrologic NMFS Hydrologic Oct. Jul. 1994 7,703 Land rights
Restoration restoration 1991
Grand total $2,744,053
Source: GAO analysis of Corps data.
Note: Data as of June 8, 2007.
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Commerce
The following are GAO's comments on the Department of Commerce's letter
dated November 26, 2007.
GAO Comments
1. We disagree with the agency that the reports' characterization
of CWPPRA monitoring is misleading because it suggests that the
program is not able to assess the success of constructed projects.
However, we have modified the report to clarify some of the issues
raised by the agency.
Appendix III: Comments from the Environmental Protection Agency
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
GAO Contact
Anu K. Mittal, (202) 512-3841, or [email protected]
Staff Acknowledgments
In addition to the individual named above, Edward Zadjura, Assistant
Director; James Dishmon; Doreen Feldman; Christine Frye; Moses Garcia;
Sheila McCoy; and Alison O'Neill made key contributions to this report.
(360749)
GAO's Mission
The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and
investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its
constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and
accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO
examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies;
and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help
Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO's
commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of
accountability, integrity, and reliability.
Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony
The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost
is through GAO's Web site ( [19]www.gao.gov ). Each weekday, GAO posts
newly released reports, testimony, and correspondence on its Web site. To
have GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted products every afternoon, go to
[20]www.gao.gov and select "E-mail Updates."
Order by Mail or Phone
The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2
each. A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent of
Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or more
copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. Orders should
be sent to:
U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G Street NW, Room LM Washington,
DC 20548
To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512-6000
TDD: (202) 512-2537
Fax: (202) 512-6061
To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs
Contact:
Web site: [21]www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm
E-mail: [22][email protected]
Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470
Congressional Relations
Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, [23][email protected] , (202) 512-4400
U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7125
Washington, DC 20548
Public Affairs
Chuck Young, Managing Director, [24][email protected] , (202) 512-4800 U.S.
Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 Washington,
DC 20548
To view the full product, including the scope
and methodology, click on [25]GAO-08-130 .
For more information, contact Anu K. Mittal at (202) 512-3841 or
[email protected].
Highlights of [26]GAO-08-130 , a report to congressional addressees
December 2007
COASTAL WETLANDS
Lessons Learned from Past Efforts in Louisiana Could Help Guide Future
Restoration and Protection
Louisiana, home to 40 percent of all coastal wetlands in the lower 48
states, is projected to lose almost 17 square miles of coastline each year
for the next 50 years to storms, sea level rise, and land subsidence.
Coastal wetlands are an important wildlife and commercial resource, and
provide a natural buffer against the storm surge that accompanies storms
and hurricanes. The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration
Act (CWPPRA) established a program in 1990 that undertakes projects to
stem coastal wetland losses. Recently, the Congress passed other measures
that will make billions in new funding available for coastal Louisiana
over the next 20 years. GAO has prepared this report under the Comptroller
General's authority as part of a continued effort to assist the Congress.
GAO reviewed the CWPPRA program to identify the (1) types of projects that
have been designed and constructed to restore and protect coastal
wetlands, as well as their estimated costs and benefits, and (2) lessons
learned from past and ongoing restoration efforts that can help guide
future efforts. GAO's review included interviews with each program agency.
Although GAO is not making any recommendations, this review emphasizes the
need for agencies to carefully consider the lessons learned from the
CWPPRA program as they propose significantly larger efforts to restore
Louisiana's coast. GAO received technical comments from two agencies which
have been incorporated as appropriate.
Over the last 17 years under CWPPRA, federal agencies and Louisiana have
designed and/or constructed 147 projects to restore and protect over
120,000 acres of coastal wetlands--about 3 percent of the Louisiana coast.
Projects have included large-scale efforts that reintroduce freshwater and
sediment to declining wetlands, as well as smaller projects such as
shoreline barriers and vegetation plantings to protect and restore the
coastal landscape. As of June 2007, of these 147 projects, 74 were
completely constructed, 16 were under construction, and 57 were being
designed and engineered. While the majority of projects are full-scale
restoration and protection efforts, 22 were demonstration projects,
initiated to test new techniques and materials. The cost of projects can
vary considerably from about $9,000 per acre to plant marsh plants to
almost $54,000 per acre to restore barrier islands. As of June 2007, the
estimated cost to complete all 147 projects was $1.78 billion. Projects
also require a continuous source of funding to maintain them over their
expected life spans, which in most cases are about 20 years--yet like
naturally occurring wetlands, most restored wetlands are also subject to
continuous erosion and subsidence over time. Because the CWPPRA program
has not implemented a comprehensive evaluation and monitoring approach, it
is not possible to determine the collective success of constructed
projects.
Previous and ongoing efforts to restore and protect Louisiana's coastal
wetlands offer important lessons to guide future restoration plans and
strategies. Of particular importance is maintaining the collaborative
process used by the CWPPRA program agencies, under which scientists,
engineers, and others with a range of experience and expertise work
together to plan and design restoration projects that are feasible and
achievable. In addition, a number of other issues will need to be
addressed as larger and more complex restoration efforts are undertaken in
the future. Specifically,
o Increasing project costs can delay individual projects, as well
as the overall program--currently 10 CWPPRA projects are on hold
waiting for funds because estimated construction costs exceed
funds available.
o Without an integrated monitoring system, officials cannot
determine whether goals and objectives are being met--even after 4
years such a system is not fully implemented for CWPPRA.
o Identifying and addressing private landowner issues is critical
in the project design phase--in some instances, these issues have
led to costly project modifications or construction delays for
some CWPPRA projects.
o Some projects simply fail to perform as designed due to
landscape, structural, or other causes beyond the designers'
control--some CWPPRA projects were terminated because such
problems were not anticipated or could not be resolved.
o Storms and hurricanes can result in significant setbacks to
projects--large areas of both naturally occurring and restored
wetlands can be destroyed in just a few days if hit by a powerful
storm.
A well-developed implementation strategy that has mechanisms to address
these types of uncertainties, when they arise, is more likely to be
successful.
References
Visible links
17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico
18. http://www.gao.gov/
19. http://www.gao.gov/
20. http://www.gao.gov/
21. http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm
22. mailto:[email protected]
23. mailto:[email protected]
24. mailto:[email protected]
25. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-130
26. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-130
*** End of document. ***