[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro pleased by progress of sand berm project, pushes for approval of remaining sections

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro pleased by progress of sand berm project, pushes for approval of remaining sections

A flyover of the sand berm being create just outside of the Chandeleur Islands was conducted by Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal and affected parish officials Thursday. Governor Jindal commented on what he considered to be two great achievements. 

"The first was to see how much land they have created out there, but it was especially gratifying to see the pipes working and the dredge working. The last time we had gone out there they had stopped the dredging,” Jindal said.

Eight dredges have sucked up and spit out 1.8 million cubic yards of material,  creating berms that are catching oil on a daily basis. "Just one day last week, the Louisiana National Guard picked up over 500 pounds of oiled debris from that sand berm. Everyday tar balls are washing up there," Jindal stated. 

"With nearly three quarters of a mile of the island now sitting out of the water now, most of it almost at the elevation of 6 feet, this is an encouraging stage of our defense and our offensive support against the oil fight that we continue to be in the middle of," St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro stated at the press conference following his flyover with Jindal. 

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, also on the overflight, stated, "Some people project we will see oil for one to two years when different storms come ashore in coastal Louisiana. So we ask the Corps of Engineers, ‘You see it is working. You see it is not hurting anything. Issue the other permits.’"

The Governor and parish officials asked that the Army Corps of Engineers quickly grant approval on the additional permits for the remaining 18 proposed sand berms.

###