St. Mary officials urge residents to get ready now

While St. Mary Parish leaders say they’re on the job to protect their citizens against any possible threat to their coast during Hurricane Season 2010, area state leaders fear the parish could be in harm’s way for a possible oil shower if things don’t get cleaned up quickly.

State Sen. Butch Gautreaux (D-Morgan City) blasts Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal for not quickly distributing $40 million in grants from BP, $25 million of which is reserved for cleanup and another $15 million for tourism.

Gautreaux said if the oil is still in the Gulf in late August through mid-September – what has traditionally been Louisiana’s target season for hurricanes – the coastal region could suffer added damage should a hurricane turn anywhere in the Tri-parish’s direction.

“Why is the governor holding onto that money? We need to know,” Gautreaux said.

State Rep. Sam Jones (D-Franklin) said Jindal has so far spent $3 million of the $25 million BP has awarded the state.

Jones has questioned why the state is maintaining such a tight grip on BP grant money. He said with a little financial help, St. Mary Parish can beef up its protection from the oil, prepare for hurricane season and get all the boom it needs to protect the coast.

“What concerns me is this oil. If it gets into the Atchafalaya Bay or the Vermillion Bay, the way of life as we know it will disappear,” Jones said. “Our estuaries will be destroyed.

“We could get a shower we all don’t want if the oil is in the Gulf, and if we’re faced with a weather monster in the Gulf, who knows what’s going to happen?” he asked.

Jones said St. Mary Parish is “poised more now than ever to face any hurricane headed our way, particularly with the strong effort the St. Mary Parish Levee District has shown over the past year.

“I know they’re on the job,” he added.

Aug. 26 will mark the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew’s landfall just below Morgan City. Since that time, Morgan City has been spared from any sort of major damage from a hurricane, although after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, the city experienced issues with salt water in its city pipes.

In May, Morgan City leaders attended a mandatory hurricane preparedness meeting at which city and department heads distributed a 100-page emergency manual.

Possible reactions to various worst-case scenarios – including a past-Andrew situation – were also reviewed, according to one city official in attendance.

Sept. 8 also marks the second anniversary of Hurricane Ike’s brush along the parish’s coastline. The storm sent a 7-foot storm surge up the Franklin Canal, flooding roughly 1,000 homes east to Centerville.

Since then, the St. Mary Parish Levee District has spearheaded a $5.7 million flood control project plan for the canal, which calls for swinging gates and a barge lock system that will close the canal in the event of a threatening storm.

Work on the project was slated to begin this July.

A permitting delay last year with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, teamed with a second day involving the state’s Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration has delayed work.

Levee district chairman Bill Hidalgo said the district has begun implementing plans for the storm season. Voters approved a tax millage hike, which will provide $2.5 million annually, to begin the work.

“We’re looking at all areas of the parish now,” Hidalgo said. “Plans include sheet pilings in the Franklin Canal, should a storm head our way. And on the east end, our plans include possibly sinking a barge at Bayou Chene, which would protect both east St. Mary Parish and some of west Terrebonne, including Gibson.”

Duval Arthur, director of St. Mary Parish Emergency Preparedness, said the parish is ready for the hurricane season.

“We have an agreement with Rapides Parish government, which allows us to evacuate all of St. Mary Parish, including pets, to the Rapides Parish Coliseum should the need arise,” Arthur said. “This is wonderful agreement between the two parishes. People won’t have to drive all over the country anymore, God forbid.”

Additionally, Arthur said the parish bought generators last year for most of the water and sewer plants.

“We have everyone situated, and all of our services are up and running,” he said.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape. We also have a lot of MRE’s (meals ready to eat) on hand and a lot of bottled water in the event we have to go an extended period without electricity,” he said.

Arthur said those who choose to evacuate to the Rapides Coliseum must bring three days worth of food, water and medication, toiletries and two to three days of clothing.

“All the normal stuff, strictly up to the individual,” he said. “There will also be a pet shelter outside of the coliseum for pets.”

In 2008, during Hurricane Gustav, the parish evacuated 890 people, 12 dogs and one parakeet to Alexandria in a trial run of the present plan.

Arthur said the parish used buses supplied by the St. Mary Community Action. The agency will again supply buses if an evacuation is ordered.

St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin said he knows the parish is prepared, but he wants his constituents to be as well.

“Before there is a threat in the gulf, there should have family meetings parish wide, in every home,” Naquin said. “Every person has to have a plan, not just the parish.”