On October 4th, 2021, the Department of Justice lodged a Consent Decree valued at approximately $5.4 million to restore habitats injured by the Fuel Barge DM932 oil spill in Louisiana, which was finalized on November 18, 2021 after a public commenting period.

In October NOAA and its co-trustees also released a released a Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) (PDF, 79 pages) for the Fuel Barge DM932 Oil Spill. The plan outlines projects to restore the habitat and resources impacted by the release of oil on the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans. 

The spill occurred on July 23, 2008, when the chemical tanker Tintomara collided with the fuel Barge DM932 on the Mississippi River. The collision caused the barge to split into two sections and spill approximately 280,000 gallons of oil into the river. The spill affected over 100 miles of the river downstream, from New Orleans to Head of Passes, and it impacted a wide range of habitats and wildlife, as well as significantly disrupting commercial and recreational activities due to waterway closures. The spill also interfered with critical channel dredging activities(link is external) (link is external)that regularly take place in the Mississippi River. 

The trustee agencies include NOAA; the United States Department of the Interior, represented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Department of Public Safety; the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality; the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.