One of the most critical things we can do to save our disappearing coast is reconnect the river to its wetlands and re-establish the natural processes that built the Mississippi River Delta and its vibrant estuaries in the first place. Sediment diversions are restoration projects that can accomplish this exact task by using the power of the river itself to strategically deliver fresh water and sediment into adjacent wetlands.

Louisiana is currently in a federal process (National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA) that precedes the potential construction of a sediment diversion, and public participation is important. “Scoping” is an early part of the NEPA process and helps federal agencies determine precisely they need to study. The NEPA scoping phase is often the best chance for the public to give meaningful input.

Please help ensure strong public engagement in this federal process by submitting comments to the Corps of Engineers before September 5, 2017. These comments will inform the Environmental Impact Statement that the Corps must complete before permitting the diversion. For example, you might relay why a healthy delta and productive estuaries are important to you as a hunter or angler and ask for consideration of what happens to fisheries, wildlife habitat, and the recreation industry depending on them if the delta is not restored with projects like sediment diversions.

You can learn more about the Mid-Barataria project here.

And you can learn more about scoping from the Environmental Law Institute here.

The comments don’t need to be long—even just a paragraph can get your main message across. If you need assistance writing or editing your comments, please let us know. You may submit your comments by email to CEMVN-Midbarataria@usace.army.mil