According to Kraft, "hurricanes add a dimension of uncertainty to this entire endeavor. We saw a lot of oil wash up from Louisiana to the Florida line after Hurricane Isaac, and there's no reason to think that future storms won't continue to churn oil onto shore." She adds that "the challenge is to begin restoration while we are still uncertain about the ultimate impacts to the coastal and marine environment."

Louisiana's annual plan proposes about $700 million of work for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, Kirkpatrick points out. That will largely fund restoration projects in response to damage from the spill, he says, adding that work will include river diversions, barrier island and shoreline restoration, marsh planning, some channel stabilization and some protection work.

While the settlement cash on criminal fines won't trickle down until litigation is complete, projects are under way at the state level. Kirkpatrick says Louisiana also awarded close to $700 million of work in the past 12 months. "Some large barrier island beach nourishment projects have been significant this year," he says.

On Scofield Island, a barrier island located eight miles offshore of Buras, La., shoreline restoration involves direct pumping of dredged materials from the Mississippi River, says Steve Auernhamer, vice president and Gulf area manager at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC.

The novel project also involves pumping materials a total of 22 miles, the longest distance ever attempted by the firm. That pipeline crossed four levees and goes under several roadways, which required microtunneling to get the 42-in.-dia casing pipe underneath that would hold the 30-in.-dia dredge carrier pipe, says Auernhamer.

"We're using a cutterhead dredge called the Dredge California along with four booster pumps to move material from the Mississippi to Scofield," says Bill Hanson, vice president at Great Lakes.

The project consists of 1.9 million cu yd of material to be placed over 12,750 ft of continuous beach fill and 1.6 million cu yd of marsh fill to be placed in 16.5 million sq ft of marsh area.

"Dredge and booster pumps had to be sized and powered adequately to accomplish the work. We also have dredging depths of 70 feet underwater," Auernhamer says. "So dredging was planned and sequenced to avoid destabilization of the river bank or levees, along with close coordination with pilots and the U.S. Coast Guard to avoid interference with the navigation industry and to ensure safe operations." Scofield is being funded by leftover BP dollars from the early $1-billion settlement. The state's budget for the restoration was $60 million to $70 million, "but we won the bid at $46.5 million," Hanson says.

This restored barrier island will provide "a significant boost to the local economy," Auernhamer says. "Barrier islands are the first line of defense from storm surge during hurricanes and tropical storms, and we will restore lost habitat for nesting migratory birds."

Projects such as Scofield Island will move forward, but it could be anytime within 10 years or more before work may begin on other restoration projects, given the slow movement of funding. "Potential funding for restoration is on a scale we've never seen," Kraft explains. "It's not hyperbole to say that we have a chance to chart an unprecedented future for the Gulf. We can't afford to get this anything but right."