MRGO – A Brief Review of Impacts &

Post-Katrina Progress

By

John Lopez, Ph.D.

Executive Director Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

Presented to Restore Americas Estuaries

October 2012 See SaveOurLake.org

USACE Slide

Funnel

1965 Hurricane Betsy

USACE Slide modified JAL

Quantified Habitat Impacts of MRGO in Louisiana

Marsh loss 27,600 acres

Wetland habitat conversion 38,000 acres & Salinity shift of lakes 488,400 acres

Dead zone of Lake Pontchartrain 64,000 acres

Total 618,000 acres

Lake Borgne

Biloxi Marsh

Wetland loss in color representing various time periods of loss due to MRGO

Bayou la Loutre

1 mile

MRGO spoil bank

MRGO spoil bank

Quantified Habitat Impacts of MRGO in Louisiana

Total 618,000 acres

Marsh loss 27,600 acres

Wetland habitat conversion 38,000 acres & Salinity shift of lakes 488,400 acres

Dead zone of Lake Pontchartrain 64,000 acres

10,000 acres of cypress swamp lost

10 PPT

15 PPT

Salinity lines 3 years after MRGO completion (LA DWF, 1971)

Proposed Ford Line (Mean 15 ppt) for the Freshwater Diversion to Lake Pontchartrain Basin and Mississippi Sound a.k.a. Bonnet Carre’ Diversion Project, USACE, 1983

Proposed Palmisano Line (Max. 15 ppt) USACE, 1983

Approximate Location of Mississippi’s Major Oyster producing reefs circa 2004, MS Dept. of Marine Resources

1912 oyster reefs of St. Bernard Parish

Reconstructed Habitats of the Lower Pontchartrain Basin circa 1912- 1932

Saline 18 ppt (8-29 ppt)

Brackish 10 ppt (4-18 ppt)

Intermediate 4 ppt (2-8 ppt)

Fresh 0 ppt (0-3 ppt)

CMP Baseline Habitat Map

constructed by the CMP draft committee for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, March 2005, (Palmisano and Ford Lines for reference only)

Lake Borgne

19th century

Fort Proctor

Shell Beach

Bank Erosion 35 feet / year average

Shoreline Erosion

15 feet / year average

1 mile

Quantified Habitat Impacts of MRGO in Louisiana

Total 922 square miles = 3X New York City Boroughs

Lake Pontchartrain “dead zone” indicated by low oxygen water

Marsh loss 27,600 acres

Wetland habitat conversion 38,000 acres & Salinity shift of lakes 488,400 acres

Dead zone of Lake Pontchartrain 64,000 acres

Lake Pontchartrain

New Orleans

“St. Bernard Parish has long requested the closure of the channel because, in addition to the environmental damage, they believe that the channel serves as a funnel for hurricane surges to enter the parish.”

Hurricane Katrina: A Watershed Event in American History MRGO’s Legacy of Destruction Widespread Levee Failures Inadequate Emergency Response 1,400 lives lost in Louisiana 200,000+ homes flooded or destroyed in New Orleans 60% of New Orleans & St. Bernard Parish residents are still displaced Over $100 Billion in assets lost

Post Katrina: Historic Institutional Issues

2

USACE Slide modified JAL

Hurricane Katrina shoaled the MRGO. Estimated cost to open - $130,250,000 (source USACE 12-2006)

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS C RAY NAGIN, MAYOR

MAYOR’S OFFICE OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Mayor’s Office of Planning and Development STATEMENT ON CLOSURE OF THE MRGO

__________________________________________ In service to the City of New Orleans as Chief Development Officer, I am writing you to offer the support and assistance of our staff and me to your staff and you as well as to those in Congress who are working to advance legislation that addresses the de-authorization of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Recognizing that the outlet should be closed, we are suggesting shallow draft navigation be allowed to continue. To facilitate a smooth transition, we are asking Congress to secure an appropriate level of resources to relocate businesses presently dependent upon the outlet to suitable locations within the Port of New Orleans. Your support of this request would be greatly appreciated. Discussion of the closing of this outlet has continued for too long. Now is the time to act. Protection of our coastline and wetland restoration is paramount if we are to avoid further catastrophic losses in Southeast Louisiana. We urge action immediately to protect our homes and businesses in the New Orleans area, and we look forward to working with you to achieve this outcome. Donna Addkison Chief Development Officer Contact: David Robinson-Morris (504) 329-1250

Comprehensive Habitat Management Plan

2006 Coastal Sustainability Program

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

SaveOurLake.org

Mister Go Must Go

A GUIDE FOR THE ARMY CORPS’ CONGRESSIONALLY-DIRECTED CLOSURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER GULF OUTLET (MRGO)

Briefing December 5, 2006

AUTHORS

Dr. John Day, Professor Emeritus, LSU Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences / School of the Coast & Environment

Dr. Mark Ford, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Dr. Paul Kemp, LSU – Hurricane Center

Dr. John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

ENDORSED BY St. Bernard Parish

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

Environmental Defense Gulf Restoration Network

Louisiana Wildlife Federation American Rivers

National Wildlife Federation

1

Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Borgne

Reach 1 Surge highway into New Orleans

100 sq. mile dead zone in Lake Pontchartrain

Reach 2 Incompatibility of a large channel directly in front of the hurricane protection levee

MRGO breached the Bayou la Loutre ridge severely altering the estuarine hydrology

Saltwater intrusion causing habitat loss and change, including loss of cypress forest to buffer levees

Ship wakes cause further wetland loss & loss of buffer

Hydraulic barrier to freshwater diversion for Biloxi marsh & Mississippi Sound

Reach 3 High dredge maintenance due to infilling in Breton Sound

Breach of the barrier and disruption of sediment transport

Biloxi Marsh IH

NC

Reach 1 New Orleans

Flooded communities in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes

Lake Pontchartrain

Reach 1 Surge highway into New Orleans

100 sq. mile dead zone in Lake Pontchartrain

Reach 2 Incompatibility of a large channel directly in front of the hurricane protection levee

MRGO breached the Bayou la Loutre ridge severely altering the estuarine hydrology

Saltwater intrusion causing habitat loss and change, including loss of cypress forest to buffer levees

Ship wakes cause further wetland loss & loss of buffer

Hydraulic barrier to freshwater diversion for Biloxi marsh & Mississippi Sound

Reach 3 High dredge maintenance due to infilling in Breton Sound

Breach of the barrier islands and disruption of sediment transport

Flooded communities in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes

IHN

C New

Orleans Biloxi Marsh

Base map U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1985

Surge “funnel”

Former Cypress Swamp

Reach 1 Reach 3 Reach 2

Environmental Damage

Post-Katrina status in 2005 Three Reaches & Three Issues

20

The “Funnel” Seaward

Lake Borgne

5

Used 350,000+ tons of stone

Moved 125,000+ tons from nearby abandoned jetty to expedite work

Remaining stone sourced from Arkansas quarry 700 miles upriver

Job completed in seven months - finished two weeks ahead of schedule

Construction 100% Federally funded, real estate provided by State of LA

Salinity reduced 10 to 12 ppt immediately upstream of barrier

Salinity levels in estuaries remain higher than historic conditions

MRGO Channel Closure Complete

22

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

20.01

110

219

328

437

546

655

764

873

982

1091

1200

1309

1418

1527

1636

1745

1854

1963

2072

2181

2290

2399

2508

2617

2726

2835

2944

3053

3162

3271

3380

3489

3598

3707

3816

3925

4034

4143

4252

4361

4470

4579

4688

4797

4906

5015

5124

5233

5342

5451

5560

5669

MRGO Salinity Near Shell Beach

June 2009- Date of Bayou la Loutre Closure dam completed

December 2008

August 2009

Source – USGS preliminary data

Reach 1 Reach 3 Reach 2

Environmental Damage

Post-Katrina status in 2005 Three Reaches & Three Issues

Reach 1 Reach 3 Reach 2

Environmental Damage

Legal closure in 2008 Removes tax burden of maintenance dredging

Reach 1 Reach 3 Reach 2

Residual

Environmental Damage

Physical Closures in 2009 - Rock Dam & Surge Barrier Reduced the dead zone in Lake Pontchartrain

Reach 1 Reach 3 Reach 2

Residual

Environmental Damage

Completion T- walls on MRGO levee in 2011

Detached Peak Surge

Multiple Lines of Defense and Hydrologic Habitat Restoration Without surge

With surge

Source: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation & Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, 2008)

Study Area: 3.86 million acres (6,023 miles2) of land and open water

Lake Borgne ecosystem and areas potentially affected by the channel

GIS by John Defraites

29

TYPE DIRECT LOSS (-)

INDIRECT LOSS (-)

INDIRECT GAIN (+) NET

FRESH / INTERMEDIATE -3,400 -3,400 -6,800 BRACKISH -10,300 -19,200 11,400 -18,100 SALINE -4,200 19,200 +15,000 CYPRESS -1,500 -8,000 -9,500 SHALLOWS -4,800 4,800 0+ ADDITIONAL* -500 -3,400 -3,900 TOTAL -24,700 -34,000 -23,300

Habitat Impacts

*Direct impacts due to additional erosion between 1990 and 2008. Indirect impacts due to increased salinity.

30

31

Central Wetlands Habitat Change 1956 Habitat

Salinity impacts addressed by MRGO closures and LCA freshwater diversion projects

No documented MRGO impacts, not Lake Borgne ecosystem

No documented MRGO impacts

No documented MRGO impacts

GIS by John Defraites 32

Corps Plan

State Master Plan

State Master Plan

Original Bonnet Carre Project 1984

Violet Diversion in WRDA 2007 Violet Diversion in SMP 2012

37

Lake Borgne Dredging Volumes

• 157 million cubic yards of material.

Public Comments related to:

• Potential for increasing storm surge by deepening the lake.

• Potential impacts to fisheries.

• Objection to “internal borrow” i.e. not introducing new sediment.

• Gulf sturgeon critical habitat.

Reintroduction land-building

Diversion sustaining (nutrients)& Marsh Creation

Reintroduction

land-building

Diversion sustaining (nutrients) & Marsh Creation

Re-establish integrity of Bayou la Loutre ridge

-Modify channel of MRGO

-Re-build natural levee south of Bayou la Loutre

Roseau cane & Rangia clams Oyster reefs

Sustain landbridges - Oyster barrier reefs

Incidental reintroduction from Pontchartrain-

Maurepas Estuary

Borgne-Biloxi Estuary

Caernarvon-Terre aux Boeufs Estuary

Sustain unnatural landbridge

Caernarvon

White Ditch

Violet

Post Katrina MRGO Milestones

2005 Hurricane Katrina

2006 Suspension of Dredging of MRGO

2007 WRDA -MRGO closure & restoration plan by 2008

2008 Closure report triggering the Legal de-authorization

2009 Rock dam on MRGO at Bayou la Loutre Ridge

2009 Surge barrier on MRGO at the “Funnel”

2011 T-Wall levee completed along the MRGO

2009 -2012 minor restoration projects by Corps and state

2012 State Mater Plan with MRGO restoration

2012 Completion of Corps Feasibility Report

Post Katrina MRGO Milestones

2005 Hurricane Katrina

2006 Suspension of Dredging of MRGO

2007 WRDA -MRGO closure & restoration plan by 2008

2008 Closure report triggering the Legal de-authorization

2009 Rock dam on MRGO at Bayou la Loutre Ridge

2009 Surge barrier on MRGO at the “Funnel”

2011 T-Wall levee completed along the MRGO

2009 -2012 minor restoration projects by Corps and state

2012 State Master Plan with MRGO restoration

2012 Completion of Corps Feasibility Report What remains? 27,000 acres of wetland restoration for ecologic and storm protection benefits