State asks feds to use dredged sediment for wetland repairs

NEW ORLEANS -- Louisiana officials believe the key to saving the state's coastal wetlands sits along the bottom of the Mississippi River.

Problem is, instead of using river sediment for our benefit, officials point out that the Army Corps of Engineers discards it.

"The corps dredges millions of cubic yards each year -- sediment that should be going to restore our coast, instead is being washed out into the gulf," said Scott Angelle, who heads up the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

State officials say they've asked the corps to spread the sediment across areas that need it most -- but to no avail.

Now, they're looking for help from Gary Locke, the U.S. Commerce Secretary.

"We're asking him to mediate our disagreement with the Corps of Engineers over the use of the material the corps dredges each year from Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River," Angelle said.

Citing Louisiana's federally-approved legal mandates, officials sent a letter to Locke, explaining how they believe the disposal of the dredged materials should be immediately addressed.

The letter said, "The corps is clearly not in compliance with these coastal programs, the law, and is not maintaining or following this legislative intent."

"We're taking a very, very important and historic step today in Louisiana in terms of changing that process of wasting that material," said Garret Graves, Louisiana’s coastal restoration advisor.

Graves emphasized that the request in no way aims to affect dredging, or commerce on the Mississippi.

"We believe that you can have both,” he said. “You can have sustainable, deep draft navigation, providing access to all the ports in Louisiana, providing the conduit for maritime commerce around the globe, and have a sustainable eco-system using that sediment that's coming down the river to rebuild and restore the land that the levees cut off in the process."

Officials want the Army Corps to specifically ask for the necessary funding required to adjust its dredging program, and what it does with dredged materials.

With an estimated 25 square miles of wetland loss each year, officials say the time for action is now.

Army Corps officials wouldn't comment on the state's request. However, a spokesman said the corps is currently dredging eight million cubic yards from a sediment disposal site to create 800 acres of marsh north of Pass a Loutre.