[StBernard] Judge orders expropriation of land for MR-GO closure

[Westley Annis]

Judge orders expropriation of land for MR-GO closure
by Bob Warren 
Monday November 10, 2008, 5:30 PM
A St. Bernard Parish judge Monday ordered two private landowners to give up
a 19-acre tract of marsh along the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet that is
crucial for plans to build a storm surge barrier along the now-infamous
shipping shortcut. 

In return, District Judge Wayne Cresap ordered the state to pay $6,301 to
property owners Anthony A. Fernandez Jr. and Roselyn Clauda Fernandez. 

The ruling essentially transfers the title on the two slivers of land to
local levee authorities, though there are still some details that will be
worked out in court next week. With the land obtained, the Army Corps of
Engineers can move forward with a $25 million project to build a stone dike
across the MR-GO at Bayou la Loutre that is meant to prevent saltwater
intrusion and guard against storm surge from future hurricanes. 

"The levee authority is trying to move the closure of the MR-GO along for
the greater good of all of us," said Tim Doody, president of the 11-member
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, which authorized the
decision to expropriate the land. "All we're trying to do is make sure we
don't push this closure to the next hurricane season. We will certainly lose
more marsh if this closure isn't in place." 

Since April the state Department of Natural Resources had sent letters to
Anthony Fernandez, trying to get title to the property and offering the
$6,301 appraised value of the land. Fernandez declined to sign it over,
arguing there was not enough compensation for commercial fishers and other
boaters who rely on the MR-GO for business. 

The local levee district brought the matter to court last Friday, urging the
judge to order a quick expropriation to avoid months of delays that could
push the project back. 

Some scientists contend the MR-GO played a central role in the devastation
of Hurricane Katrina by funneling storm surge from Lake Borgne and the Gulf
of Mexico into St. Bernard Parish and vulnerable parts of New Orleans.
Saltwater intrusion from the shipping channel has also destroyed thousands
of acres of wetlands and cypress forests in St. Bernard and eastern New
Orleans. 

Representing himself in court filings, Fernandez said the levee authority
did not have the right to take the land because the MR-GO closure was a
navigation issue, not a coastal restoration issue. 

"By alleging that this is a levee and not a navigation structure, the state
will decrease the compensation it must pay to landowners, business interests
and the citizens of St. Bernard Parish," Fernandez wrote. "The government
has paid businesses in New Orleans for their losses caused by the closure of
the MR-GO to deep-draft navigation, but the state is unwilling to do so in
St. Bernard Parish." 

Lawyers for the levee authority fired back in a memo. 

"The MR-GO closure is exactly the opposite of a navigation project," the
filing reads. "It is a project to close a navigation project, the purpose
and intended effect of which are to restore wetlands and protect the coast."


Fernandez did not return a call to his office Monday seeking additional
comment. 

According to Cresap's order, the landowners must hand over title to the
property once the money is deposited in court. The defendants can still
dispute the $6,301 sum, which will be the subject of a hearing next Monday.