June 30
June 30, 2009
Elsie Rhodes Theriot Andrews
July 2, 2009
Lafourche Parish is in the process of designing a plan to combat erosion as part of its coastal assistance plan.
Lafourche’s Coastal Energy and Environment Director Nicholas Matherne said the parish will use some of the 2009 federal stimulus funds that have been allocated for coastal restoration in Louisiana.
First, the parish will utilize its coastal impact assistance plan hydraulic dredging study. Contractors will attach a dredge to a barge and cut the bottom of a lake or bayou to pump some of the sediment through pipes to create new land in an eroded location.
“We can stretch these out for as long as you want,” Matherne said. “We can add as many booster pumps as needed along the way. But ultimately, we want to pump out this slurry mixture at the end of the pipe to create a new land in a new location.”
A small dredging program near Catfish Lake in Golden Meadow is the first sediment replacement project on the priority list. Matherne said the parish has all the permits needed for the job.
The parish will advertise for project bids in August or September. The tentative start date is Oct. 15.
“We have been working with Windell Curole with the South Lafourche Levee District and engineers Picciola and Associates to identify the best locations that would protect the levees,” Matherne said.
The three main areas selected are near the Golden Meadow boat launch. Matherne said the areas are shallow due to the hurricane surges of the last two storms.
Though the parish did not offer an amount for the project, Parish President Charlotte Randolph said the parish has received an additional $80,000 in royalty monies to help with the project.
The second project is in the northwest portion of Little Lake near the border of Jefferson Parish. The parish is currently reviewing the plans and will have a recommendation for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the engineers on the project.
The permit application has been submitted. Matherne’s hope is that since this is a coastal restoration project, the permit process will be expedited.
The parish plans to advertise for bids in October, and the tentative start date is Nov. 1.
Matherne presented the Lafourche Parish Council a slideshow at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The information was gathered from the 1988 Department of Natural Resources Habitat Data form. He showed the council how the parish has eroded over a period of time from 1997 to 2007
“You can see how the area has deteriorated a bit,” he told them. “The land has fluctuated quite a bit in this area. We want to fill in the broken marsh to reinforce the integrity of the shoreline.”
The parish is also planning to plant smooth cordgrass and California bulrush to help reinforce the shoreline, according to Matherne.
The third project is the long distance sediment pipeline delivery system. He said the project involves Plaquemines, Lafourche and Jefferson parishes, and is part of the state’s Coastal Impact Assistance Plan.
The sediment pipeline delivery project is estimated to be 25 miles stretching across the Mississippi River from Plaquemines Parish to Lafourche.
“This is to pump sediment from the Mississippi River to create wetlands,” Matherne said. The state has put in $31 million and got an additional $37 million from the 2009 surplus. Jefferson, Lafourche and Plaquemines parishes have chipped in $1 million each from their parish CIAP allocation.
The total project is estimated to cost $71 million to utilize the large sediment bed in the Mississippi River that Matherne said is wasted every year.
The parish is in the process of getting permits for Phase 1 to build a crossover structure over the land and marsh near the river. Final plans for the project should be done by October. The parish will advertise for bids in December or early 2010.
Some state representatives said the project should be complete by March 2010 because it is being joined with another project.
Phase 2 is the actual pipeline system.
Matherne said construction on the pipeline system will begin immediately after Phase 1 is completed.
The state’s goal is to start pumping sediment by late 2010 or early 2011.
Lafourche’s Coastal Energy and Environment Director Nicholas Matherne said the parish will utilize its coastal impact assistance plan hydraulic dredging study to pump some of the sediment through pipes to create new land in an eroded location. * Photo courtesy of LAFOURCHE PARISH GOVERNMENT
