Colonial Pipeline Employees Plant Trees In Louisiana Marsh With CRCL & LPBF

BRAITHVILLE, La. — Colonial employees from Collins, Baton Rouge and the corporate office planted 400 trees in the Louisiana marsh with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation on October 12. 

“I want to compliment the Colonial team for being so hardworking, said Deb Abibou, restorations program director for CRCL. ​“Your group is always among the best volunteers we have all year! I know it was an unseasonably warm day, so again, thank you!” 

Colonial has maintained contact with both organizations during its ​“Project Pouldeau” Line 07 replacement project in South Louisiana to ensure we care for the marsh vigorously. As part of that commitment to protect the environment, this is the third consecutive year employees have planted trees near our Line 07 right-of-way (ROW). A fresh water diversion in the caernarvon marsh has desalinized the area and brought much needed silt from the Mississippi River. Planting trees compliments the freshwater diversion to help stabilize the marsh and halt coastal erosion. The restoration of marsh in the area would create more land on our ROW, protecting our pipeline from saltwater. 

In addition, Colonial recently completed construction of a seven mile mitigation bank on the rim of Lake Lery in St. Bernard Parish. This Army Corps of Engineers project, designed to reverse coastal erosion in Louisiana, crosses our Line 07 ROW. As part of Project Pouldeau, Colonial, working with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Army Corps of Louisiana, and other state agencies, agreed to construct the mitigation bank for the state, saving tax payers nearly $30 million. 

Colonial Pipeline partners with conservation groups active on its ROW in every state it operates in. This engagement allows Colonial to better fulfill its mission to protect the environment we share our pipeline with. In 2017, Colonial will participate in 12 events with local conservation groups, most occurring in October.