Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 

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CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

7.1 AREAS OF CONTROVERSY AND UNRESOLVED ISSUES 

Construction and operation of the MRGO, in synergistic combination with other natural and 

man-made factors, has caused direct, indirect and cumulative land loss, shoreline erosion, 

saltwater intrusion, habitat modification, and impacts to wildlife and fisheries resources 

throughout the project area. Determining the extent to which the MRGO contributed to these 

impacts and what, if any, actions would be necessary to remediate any such impacts remains a 

controversial issue. 

Based upon recent sensitivity studies conduced by the ERDC in support of the LACPR 

evaluation of comprehensive hurricane protection analysis and designs, the loss of wetland 

areas does increase storm surge and wave potential at the hurricane protection system (personal 

communication, Ty Wamsley, ERDC, April 24, 2007). However, because the acreage of 

wetlands lost, levee heights and alignments, shoreward depths and storm characteristics all 

affect the height of storm surge, it is difficult to determine at this stage of scientific knowledge 

the effect of wetland loss in the area around Lake Borgne on storm surge (personal 

communication, Mr. Van Stutts and Ms. Janice Hote, LACPR Hydrology Team, 

December 19, 2007). 

7.2 CONCLUSIONS 

The Selected Plan (SP) would create and nourish approximately 3,345 acres (1,355 ha) of 

brackish and saline wetlands and provide approximately 49,280 ft (15,020 m) of shoreline 

protection in Lake Borgne. Selected Plan features include: 

1. Wetland creation and nourishment along the MRGO and Lake Borgne critical land 

bridge at the Golden Triangle and in the Shell Beach area. 

2. Shoreline protection (using foreshore rock dikes) in the vicinity of Bayou Bienvenue, 

Bayou Dupre, and west of Shell Beach in Lake Borgne. 

Wetland creation and nourishment and shoreline protection features of the SP would restore 

fragmented brackish and saline wetlands in the Golden Triangle and Shell Beach areas thereby 

protecting and restoring a large portion of the MRGO and Lake Borgne critical land bridge; 

helping to prevent the increase in hydrologic connections between the MRGO and Lake 

Borgne; contributing to the overall goals of hurricane protection and wetlands restoration in 

southeast Louisiana; and fostering the advancement of salinity reduction goals in the 

Pontchartrain Basin. 

The SP is the plan that best meets the planning objectives implicit in the Congressional mandate 

to repair, construct or provide measures or structures necessary to protect, restore or increase 

wetlands, which would assist in the reduction of saltwater intrusion and storm surge in the 

MRGO area as authorized by Chapter 3, under division B, of title I of Public Law 109-148 (119 

Stat. 2762) under the heading “Operations and Maintenance,” as amended by Section 2304 of 

Public Law 109-234 (120 Stat. 418). The SP is also the plan that best meets the P&G’s four 

criteria of completeness, effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability, as well as the 
Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 

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Environmental Operating Principles of environmental sustainability, interdependence, balance 

and synergy, accountability, knowledge, respect, and assessing and mitigating cumulative 

impacts. 

7.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 

The District Commander has considered all the significant aspects of this study including the 

environmental, social, and economic effects, the engineering feasibility, and the comments 

received from other resource agencies, the Non-Federal Sponsors, and the public and has 

determined that the recommended plan presented in this report is in the overall public interest 

and a justified expenditure of Federal funds. As a comprehensive approach to protect, stabilize, 

and augment the land bridge between Lake Borgne and the MRGO, the District Commander 

recommends the construction of rock dikes for shoreline protection along the south bank of 

Lake Borgne in the reaches referenced as Bayou Bienvenue, Bayou Dupre, and West of Shell 

Beach. The District Commander also recommends the construction of marsh creation projects 

in the Golden Triangle and Shell Beach area. 

The total cost for the project is $62,400,000 inclusive of associated investigation, 

environmental, engineering and design, construction, supervision and administration, and 

contingency costs. The operations and maintenance of this project may be assumed by a nonFederal sponsor. The project is funded 100% by the Federal Government. 

The recommendation contained herein reflects the information available at this time, January 

2008 price levels, and current Departmental policies governing the formulation of individual 

projects. They do not reflect program and budgeting priorities inherent in the formulation of a 

national civil works construction program, nor the perspective of higher levels of review within 

the Executive Branch. Consequently, the recommendation may be modified before they are 

transmitted to the Congress as proposals for authorization and/or implementation funding.