SWG-2023-00231 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Gulf of Mexico - Jefferson County, Texas

Public Notice          Project Plans

The applicant is proposing beach and dune nourishment activities which will result in the permanent placement of a maximum of 4.2 million cubic yards (CY) of offshore sand material within a 5.8-mile-long by 700-foot-wide beach and dune nourishment template along the Gulf of Mexico frontage for the purpose of reducing saltwater intrusion into interior freshwater marshes in Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge and to slow shoreline retreat along the refuge coastline.  The proposed project will result in permanent impacts to approximately 25 acres of wetlands and approximately 433 acres of waters and temporary impacts to approximately 5 acres of wetlands and approximately 23 acres of waters.  The scope of work also includes the following:  (1) construction of an approximate 500-foot by 250-foot western staging area next to Sea Rim Estates Road, (2) construction of an approximate 1.4-mile-long by 60-foot-wide western access corridor, (3) construction of an approximate 900-foot by 400-foot eastern access corridor and staging area, (4) two separate mooring area options on each side of Sabine Pass, each approximately 1,000-foot-long by 350-foot-wide, to allow the construction contractor flexibility, (5) potential construction of an approximate 0.3-mile-long by 150-foot-wide temporary pipeline corridor (if the eastern Sabine Pass mooring area is utilized) resulting in excavation of a maximum of 10,000 CY of channel bottom for the purpose of temporarily installing the transport pipe at least 2 feet below the authorized channel depth, (6) construction of an approximate 250-foot-long by 150-foot-wide temporary access channel along the western shoreline of Sabine Pass resulting in excavation of a maximum of 5,000 CY of channel bottom for the purpose of allowing shallow draft barges and construction boats access to the project site, and (7) excavation, at a conservative 1.3:1 cut to fill ratio, of a maximum of 4.2 million CY of sand material from two offshore borrow areas within the Sabine Banks; excavation methods will be trailing suction hopper dredges (hoppers) and/or hydraulic cutterhead dredges (cutterhead).  Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Borrow Area 1 is approximately 462 acres located at approximately 29.469441°, 093.735081° and Offshore Borrow Area 2 is approximately 470 acres located at 29.471028°, 093.710691°.