Posted on July 19, 2016
By Sean Ellis, houmatoday.com
A $2 million contribution by two local agencies will help dredge a canal that oilfield businesses depend on to transport platforms and materials to and from the Gulf of Mexico.
Terrebonne Parish government and the local Port Commission are putting up a combined $2 million to have the Houma Navigation Canal dredged to a depth of 15 feet.
The Parish Council approved a budget amendment to move $1.5 million from an economic development fund last week.
The Army Corps of Engineers’ New Orleans District, which maintains the canal, has only budgeted $1.1 million for the removal of 250,000 cubic yards of material.
But 1.2 million cubic yards must be dredged to meet the authorized 15-foot depth, officials said. With the canal now at 12 feet deep, the corps’ work alone would only dredge it to 13 feet.
“With this money to only go 13 feet, in six months, we’ll be sitting at 10 feet and then we’ll really be in a bind,” Parish President Gordy Dove said. “The industry along the Houma Navigation Canal, the vessels coming in are all geared up to 15 feet. Without the 15 feet, we lose a lot of jobs and a lot of industry. If we don’t do this, it will devastate our marine industry.”
There is a possibility that the $2 million will be repaid next year through state construction dollars, but the money is needed now as the corps will have a dredge in the canal in 30 days, and everything had to be in place before then, Dove said.
Source: houmatoday.com
