NOAA Notice: Deepwater Horizon Trustees Pick Two Louisiana Coastal Projects Worth About $265.7 Million: Rebuilding 1,320 Acres of the East Orleans Landbridge and 410 Acres of Raccoon Island

The two selected projects

East Orleans Landbridge, preferred Alternative 4

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• Dredge and place about 5.0 million cubic yards of sediment from a nearby inland borrow source.
• Restore up to 1,320 acres of a wetland complex.
• Build 14,867 linear feet (about 2.8 miles) of shoreline protection.
• Estimated cost: $109.4 million.

Raccoon Island, preferred Alternative 3

• Dredge about 2.9 million cubic yards of sand from an offshore borrow source.
• Restore up to 410 acres of barrier island habitat.
• Maintain existing Gulf-side breakwaters, build four bayside breakwaters and nine living shoreline structures.
• Estimated cost: $156.3 million.

The money comes from the Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats restoration type allocation in the Deepwater Horizon settlement. The trustees say more Louisiana restoration planning will continue.

How the plan got here

• April 20, 2010: the Deepwater Horizon drilling unit, drilling a well for BP Exploration and Production, exploded, burned and sank in the Gulf, releasing millions of barrels of oil.
• April 4, 2016: the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana entered a Consent Decree resolving the trustees' civil claims against BP.
• In the earlier Final RP/EA #8, the Louisiana TIG funded engineering and design for both projects.
• December 5, 2025: the TIG announced it was starting RP/EA #8.1.
• May 18, 2026: the draft plan was published for a 30-day review (91 FR 28574). A public webinar was held June 8, and comments were taken through June 17, 2026.
• After reviewing comments, the TIG finalized the plan and prepared the FONSI.

The final plan weighed three design alternatives for each project under the Oil Pollution Act natural resource damage regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Who is on the Louisiana TIG

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, the Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality, Wildlife and Fisheries, and Natural Resources, plus NOAA, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Where to read it

• The Final RP/EA #8.1 and FONSI are posted at gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana. A flash drive with the plan, FONSI and a fact sheet can be requested from the contact below.
• The administrative record is at doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord, folder 6.5.5.2.16.
• Contact: David Reeves, NOAA Restoration Center, (225) 726-1914.

Source

• National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, "Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Phase 2 Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #8.1: East Orleans Landbridge Restoration Project and Raccoon Island Restoration Project and Finding of No Significant Impact," 91 FR 65182, FR Doc. 2026-20992, October 14, 2026 (federalregister.gov/d/2026-20992).

Notes and sources

1. Image: Pipelines and bulldozers place dredged sediment to rebuild coastal marsh in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina (file photo, illustrative; not the East Orleans Landbridge or Raccoon Island projects). Photo: NOAA via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
2. Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
3. Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending — fill xPostUrl after live post).
4. Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).