By Renee Allemand
Hurricane protection is vital to the future of St. Charles Parish, and officials are continuing work to expedite the construction of a West Bank levee.
Parish President V.J. St. Pierre has been in the news lately with the recent cancellation of the contract to construct Phase I of the levee, which runs behind the Magnolia Ridge subdivision in Boutte.
Until now, the parish has been working on its own to complete the levee with no matching funds from the state or federal government. Estimates to complete the entire project have risen to over $100 million, which is equal to the parish’s total budget for 2007.
All along, the intention has been to build the levee to structural standards recognized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA. But Hurricane Katrina changed those standards.
“To continue building in the same way would make no sense,” St. Pierre said. “It is past time for us to regroup on this project and focus on creating positive relationships with the Corps and neighboring levee districts to make sure this levee gets built the right way.”
Look for officials to outline a specific plan of action regarding this project in the coming weeks.
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St. Charles Parish Public Information Officer Renee C. Allemand can be reached at (985) 783-5000 or rallemand@stcharlesgov.net.
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