Posted on March 29, 2018
By John Dupont, The Livingston Parish News
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the final permit for Livingston Parish to begin a long-awaited cleanup project along area waterways.
The green light from the Corps clears the way for $3.5 million project to begin in late April, according to Mark Harrell, director of the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
“This is a huge project for us,” Harrell said. “Some of these areas have never been cleaned.”
The Natural Resources Conservation Service funding will cover Natalbany from La. 22 to Interstate 12, as well as Tickfaw River from the state park to the St. Helena line, and from Colyell down to Buddy Ellis Road and back to Colyell Bay.
Cleanup of the extensive areas of the Tickfaw River will involve agencies from both Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes.
The project is covered by the federal funds allotted to the NRCS through the United States Department of Agriculture.
The LOHSEP will follow up with a request to the state Office of Community Development for reimbursement of the parish’s $1.9 million cost share from the debris cleanup which ended in late 2017, Harrell said.
“That’s money we can put right back into our budget,” he said.
Source: The Livingston Parish News
