Posted on January 11, 2018
By Holly Duchmann, dailycomet.com
Community members, environmental advocates and local government officials met Tuesday night at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center for a public hearing on coastal restoration after the state released its plan outlining its annual restoration plan.
The meeting focused on the next year’s restoration work, including projects for Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority released a draft of its Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Plan that includes details on short-term projects, long-term projects, summaries of work completed in the past year, anticipated revenue sources and expected spending over the next three years. Everything in the plan follows the state’s Coastal Master Plan, which was approved earlier this year.
The plan, released in December, outlines $562 million of spending, 86 percent of which would be project-associated costs. According to the plan, CPRA estimates to spend $931 million during the 2020 fiscal year and $876 million in the 2021 fiscal year.
For the 2019 fiscal year, which begins July 1 and runs until June 30, 2019, there are two projects in planning, 34 in engineering and design and 23 under construction. There are also an additional 136 projects for which CPRA is paying for operation and maintenance costs.
Two local projects included in the plan include the Cut Off/Pointe-aux-Chenes Levee and the Morganza-to-the-Gulf levee system.
The Morganza-to-the-Gulf system is a hurricane protection system for Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. Started in 2005, the system, when completed in 2020, will consist of 72 miles of earthen levee, 12 floodgate structures for the navigable waterways and a lock structure in the Houma Navigational Canal measuring 200 feet wide by 1,200 feet long.
The Cut Off/Pointe-aux-Chenes Levee project is a refurbishment of 2.1 miles of existing levee near Cut Off. It is estimated to cost over $9 million. Construction began in August and is expected to end in November 2019, according to the plan.
David Chauvin, from Chauvin, said at the public hearing that he and his family have worked in the shrimp industry for over 30 years. While dredging has not been a concern to the shrimp industry, the freshwater diversions are, he said. Chauvin urged the CPRA to continue to take the shrimp industry into consideration in future plans.
“We all understand that we need coastal protection. It doesn’t pay to have a business if we don’t have a place to live,” Chauvin said. “We’ve seen a shift in production as far as shrimp goes in the Barataria estuary. We’re noticing we’re getting less product from the area, and also the sizes are smaller. The salinity levels are dropping and it’s not allowing (shrimp) to mature properly.”
CPRA is accepting comments on its annual plan until Feb. 12. Comments can be mailed to Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Public Comments, 150 Terrace Ave., Baton Rouge, LA, 70802, or emailed to coastal@la.gov.
After the public comment period closes, the final plan will be presented to the CPRA board on Feb. 21 and submitted to the state Legislature March 14.
“Since CPRA was put in motion, more has been done for Louisiana than ever in the history of what anyone could imagine,” Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove said at the hearing. “They’re committed, they do a good job. … They’re vital to our existence.”
To view the full plan, visit coastal.la.gov/our-plan/annual-plan/.
Source: dailycomet.com
