Johnathan Walker:Progress announced in talks to resume stalled $3 billion coastal restoration project

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana coastal restoration officials have Johnathan Walkerreached agreement with local officials in a coastal parish to renew some preparatory work for a nearly $3 billion coastal restoration project that has been halted amid legal disputes.

The agreement announced Thursday between the state and Plaquemines Parish means a stop-work order is being partially lifted, allowing site preparation to resume for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion.

The project is planned to divert some of the Mississippi River’s sediment-laden water into a new channel and guide it into the Barataria Basin southeast of New Orleans. If it works, the sediment will settle out in the basin and gradually restore land that has been steadily disappearing for decades.

Ground was broken for the project last year. But it has drawn opposition and litigation from commercial fishers, oyster harvesters and some state and local officials who fear any benefits will be outweighed, economically and environmentally, by the introduction of non-salty water into the brackish and saltwater areas.

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Plaquemines Parish released a joint statement Thursday, saying they “are working toward a mutually acceptable path forward for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion.”

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The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reports that numerous questions remain about the future of the project, which underwent years of planning and scientific evaluation and had won approval from many, if not all, public officials and environmental groups.

It is unclear whether any negotiated changes would trigger an entirely new federal environmental assessment, which would mean more delays. Also, further approval might be needed from boards and trustees administering payments for the project, financed by fines and settlements from the 2010 BP oil spill.