This was the first Plaquemines Parish project under the USACE Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (BUDMAT) Program. Plaquemine's Parish served as the local sponsor on this project with a 75% Federal (USACE) and 25% Local (Plaquemines Parish) cost share. Manchac was contracted to provide Engineering and Design services to fulfill the Parish's portion of the cost share agreement.
This effort will provide valuable habitat for wildlife and fisheries, reduce the loss of important coastal landscapes in Plaquemines Parish, increase sediment retention in West Bay, and help sustain the ecosystem of coastal Louisiana.
The LCA BUDMAT program was authorized in WRDA 2007 and aims to use material from federally-maintained waterways throughout the New Orleans District beneficially to create and restore coastal landscape features, such as marshes, ridges, and islands. The program can execute beneficial use projects over a ten year period for a total cost of $100 million.