[StBernard] St. Bernard Council Declines to Sign Agreement With Port

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Council Declines to Sign Agreement With Port

November 16, 2005

By: Steve Cannizaro


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St. Bernard Council declines to sign agreement with Port but will meet again
Thursday 
St. Bernard Parish Council members Tuesday declined to sign an agreement 
with the Port of New Orleans pending further talks about the future of the 
Mississippi River Gulf Outlet that puts St. Bernard flood and levee 
protection as a top priority.

The two sides will meet again Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on the second-floor of 
the parish government building.

Gary LaGrange, chief administrative officer of the board of commissioners 
for the Port, sought the agreement Tuesday at a Council meeting to have a 
united front before Congress under a proposed plan that would have a flood 
gate and a north levee for the MRGO, as well as maintain the channel as a 
federal waterway at a reduced draft of 28 feet. Also, the plan would call 
for the completion of the lock project over the Industrial Canal.

But members of the audience in the Council Chambers angrily shouted out to 
close the MRGO, blaming it for the parish's destruction in Hurricane 
Katrina.

LaGrange said the Port has been in negotiations with St. Bernard Parish 
President Henry "Junior'' Rodriguez regarding a closure plan for deep-draft 
vessels in the MRGO.

Several St. Bernard Council members reminded LaGrange the Port has sought to

continue dredging of the ship channel in the past.

Council member Mark Madary of Arabi said nothing short of closing the Gulf 
Outlet is satisfactory.

"It's brought the Gulf to our backyard'' because of erosion of marshland, 
Madary said. "It has caused misery'' to the parish in the form of 125 St. 
Bernard residents dead from flood waters, he said.

Council member Craig Taffaro said an agreement would have to restore the 
marsh as hurricane protection and said that to accept an agreement with the 
Port it would have to benefit St. Bernard.

Council Chairman Joseph Difatta said any plan with the Port must promote the

safety of St. Bernard and "put people first and industry second.''

Rodriguez said it was important for the Council to take action quickly for 
the benefit of getting something before Congress. He also said it would be 
popular in St. Bernard to simply call for the closing of the MRGO, 
emphasizing he did so for years but didn't get anywhere.

Now he realizes that just closing it would not solve the problem because 
federal authorities would walk away from any obligation, leaving St. Bernard

vulnerable, Rodriguez said.

The Council voted 6-0 to pass a resolution that condemned the Port's 
solicitation of support for dredging of the MRGO, even though LaGrange said 
the Port commission has changed its position since that idea was put in a 
letter dated Nov. 5.