FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2010
Contacts: Robbie Wilbur 601.961.5277
Donna Lum: 601.351.2749
Anna Masters: 601.351.2784
MDEQ LAUNCHES EXPEDITED RESTORATION PROJECT
Enhancement will offset potential oil spill effects to birds
(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has launched an expedited restoration project in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill which will provide approximately 2,500 acres of enhanced mudflats and shallow water habitat for shorebirds, wading birds, and waterfowl. Staged in the Mississippi Delta and funded by BP, the project will provide additional inland refuge areas for migratory and other birds.
"We are excited about this unique project because it will provide immediate benefit to migratory birds for which the Gulf Coast area is a critical winter respite as well as native birds whose habitat may have been negatively affected by the oil spill and related cleanup activities,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher.
The project, which will involve work in two Delta counties, will focus on the creation of additional wetlands areas through controlled flooding and the improvement of levees. Work will occur in two designated wildlife management areas (WMA), the Howard Miller WMA in Issaquena County and the Malmaison WMA in Leflore County. The Foundation for Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, through a grant from MDEQ, will oversee the work which is expected to begin before the end of the year.
By law, MDEQ is the lead agency in a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) currently underway in Mississippi. NRDA is the legal process for indentifying and quantifying damage done to the state’s natural resources as a result of an environmental incident such as the Deepwater Horizon spill. The assessment provides the base from which Mississippi will plan and implement restoration of the Gulf Coast and/or compensation for the damage. MDEQ will continue seeking ways in which to expedite restoration projects that will prevent or reduce damages while the NRDA assessment is underway. MDEQ is working with the other Gulf of Mexico states, as well as the Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on the NRDA process. More information about the agency's damage assessment process is located at www.deq.state.ms.us/NRDA.
"Our singular goal in the aftermath of the oil spill is to make Mississippi whole," said Fisher. "Nature and its enjoyment are fundamental to Mississippians, whose lives are integrally bound up in the pleasure of hunting, fishing, bird watching, and other nature-related activities. We look forward to more restoration project announcements in the coming days and weeks."
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