Renee Simpson
At a recent council meeting, Parish President V.J. St. Pierre presented updated information on the permitting progress for the West Bank hurricane protection levee.
The project, which is detailed as parish government’s first goal in the 2009 Special Report mailer, has seen some delay due to state agencies’ involvement in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
To see the full report, log on to the parish website at stcharlesparish-la.gov under Residents > West Bank Levee Updates.
WILLOWRIDGE PHASE II
Agency Comments: All comments received from the commenting agencies have been addressed. In conversations with the various agencies, no other comments, outside of any potential resolution conflicts with the already received comments, will be provided. At this point in time, no known resolution conflicts exist. There are two comments that the parish had concerns about: Degrading the finger levee around the conservation easement and the requirement that the wetland mitigation be accomplished within 30 days of the issuance of the permit. Both of these issues have been resolved to the parish’s favor.
Corps of Engineers Status: All comments from the Corps of Engineers have been addressed. The Department of Natural Resources is preparing a Wetlands Value Assessment that will be provided to the Corps of Engineers. Once the Corps receives this information they will get with EPA and the U.S. Wildlife and Fisheries and establish the value (number of acres to mitigate for each acre impacted). This is the last piece of information the Corps needs to complete their side of the permit.
Department of Natural Resources Status: All comments provided from DNR have been addressed. Comment resolution for the last set of DNR comments was provided on July 19, 2010. We are currently waiting on concurrence from DNR on those resolutions.
Preparation of Plans and Specifications: A fee proposal for surveys has been requested and received from Riverland Surveying Co. LLC. A fee proposal for soil borings and geotechnical designs has been requested of Eustis Engineering Company Inc.
GCR prepared notification letters on behalf of the Lafourche Basin Levee District to the three property owners impacted by the Willowridge alignment. Larry Buquoi, attorney for LBLD, approved the letters and returned signed copies to GCR by mail. On Aug. 9, 2010, the letters along with the required attachments were sent via certified mail to the property owners. Fifteen days following the mailing of the letters, the LBLD will have the authority to enter upon the landowners’ property to conduct surveying and investigative work. As a result, St. Charles Parish can issue an authorization to proceed to the surveying crews on Aug. 25, 2010.
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