"A White House working group of Cabinet-level officials on Thursday outlined a road map for speeding the design and construction of coastal restoration projects in Louisiana and Mississippi, and pledged to give coastal restoration the same priority as navigation and flood protection in future federal decision-making.

The task force promised to identify by this fall a list of major coastal restoration projects in Louisiana and Mississippi aimed at areas with the most critical need and the biggest long-term benefits. The list will be developed in consultation with Louisiana and Mississippi officials and local stakeholders.

During the next 18 months, the group also pledged to speed the existing restoration process by identifying ways to improve the science used to design and build projects and increasing the use of sediment dredged from the Mississippi and other rivers to rebuild wetlands, among other new measures."

Mark Schleifstein reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune March 4, 2010. [2]