Posted on July 4, 2016
By Sean Ellis, houmatoday.com
Terrebonne Parish officials recently met with the local congressional delegation to discuss the importance of maintaining a 15-foot depth in the Houma Navigation Canal.
“Local industry can’t survive if the entire channel is not dredged yearly to the federally authorized depth. If a tree fell across an interstate, it would be removed right away, but if a sandbar forms in a channel, it takes an act of Congress to get it dredged,” said David Rabalais, the Port of Terrebonne’s executive director.
This year, the Corps of Engineers New Orleans District, which maintains the canal, has only budgeted money 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.
The majority of the channel dredging is from mile zero, where the canal meets the Gulf of Mexico, through Cat Island Pass to mile 10. This section of the canal is in open water and easily silts from east and west currents. The dredged material turns into a fine, powdery dust when dried and doesn’t have any beneficial use.
“The canal is the main artery to the heart beat of this region’s local economy and when it gets silted- in our industry goes into cardiac arrest,” Rabalais said. “Multimillion-dollar jobs are lost anytime the channel is not maintained. A vessel that requires 14 feet of water won’t navigate through sand bars at minus 13 feet and will go elsewhere for repair and maintenance.”
“This region pioneered the main fabrication and vessel repair industry but is slowly losing hold of a market share created by generations of hard-working people due to inconsistent maintenance dredging by the corps,” he added.
Terrebonne Parish President Gordy Dove also attended the meeting with U.S. Sen. David Vitter, U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise, Garret Graves and Charles Boustany, and the staff of U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy.
“We are meeting with Senator David Vitter and members of our congressional delegation, along with the new colonel of the corps. The HNC channel must, I repeat must, be dredged to a 15-foot navigable depth,” Dove said. “This is vital for the economy of Terrebonne Parish and we must and will continually address this situation. The corps drastically underfunded the project.”
Rabalais said he is hopeful a solution will be found.
“We told our story to anyone who would listen and our congressional delegation not only listened but is pursuing solutions as a team. We were well received and I’m very confident that something will get done for this year’s dredging cycle,” he said.
Source: houmatoday.com
