BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District signed an agreement to start designing the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) Ecosystem Restoration Project.

According to a news release, the project, approved by Congress in 2007, aims to fix years of erosion, saltwater damage and storm impacts from the MRGO.

Key plans include:

• Building over 41 miles of shoreline protection and 14 miles of foreshore protection.
• Restoring 57,000 acres of wetlands and coastal habitat.
• Repairing dikes and adding recreation areas.
• Prioritizing protection in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, including areas around Lake Borgne, Bayou Dupre, and The Rigolets.

“This agreement marks a major step forward in restoring areas that have suffered from erosion, saltwater intrusion, and storm damage tied to the MRGO for far too long,” said Gordon “Gordy” Dove, chairman of CRPA. “We are grateful for our strong partnership with the Corps and the federal commitment to fully fund this work.”

“We look forward to closely working with CPRA in delivering a project that will restore more than 57,000 acres of wetland and coastal habitat,” said Col. Scotty Autin, 66th commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. “Today’s agreement positions us to begin design of the initial project features as soon as funding becomes available.”

“Today’s signing marks a long-awaited step forward,” said CPRA Executive Director Michael Hare. “The communities impacted by the MRGO have endured decades of damage. Now it’s time to get to work protecting our coast and restoring vital ecosystems.”

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