[StBernard] St. Bernard council to vote on flood protection resolutions

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard council to vote on flood protection resolutions
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on August 18, 2014 at 5:16 PM, updated August 18, 2014 at 6:26 PM

The St. Bernard Parish Council on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on two flood
protection resolutions seeking state money for a floodwall and asking that
some wetland restoration projects be included in the state's master plan to
rebuild the coast.

One resolution would support the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority-East's request for $4 million to design and construct a floodwall
on the west side of the Violet Canal. The resolution states that the wall,
tied into the Forty Arpent Levee, is needed for that levee to meet
certification requirements. The parish is seeking money from an outside
source, citing that the local Lake Borgne Basin Levee District faces a
$500,000 annual deficit and can't pay for the project.

If the floodwall is not built and the Forty Arpent Levee is not certified,
flood insurance "premiums will significantly increase" in New Orleans' Lower
9th Ward and in St. Bernard Parish, "severely impacting new home ownership,
mortgages and the tax base" of those areas, the resolution states.

The other council resolution requests the state to include various new
restoration projects in its 2017 Coastal Master Plan.

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is charged with
updating the 2012 plan in five years and the authority has asked the parish
for a list of additional projects "to supplement the 2012 plan list in
preparation for the 2017 update," according to the resolution. (Below, view
the list of the projects.)

The flood protection resolutions come as the SLFPA-East earlier this month
took the first step to call a Dec. 6 election in St. Bernard asking for a
7.5 mill increase in the taxes that fund the Lake Borgne Basin Levee
District.

Approval of that increase would raise the existing millage rate for the
levee district to 18.5 mills. That would result in an increase of $18.75 a
year for a homeowner whose house is worth $100,000 and has a homestead
exemption. The increase for an owner-occupied house worth $200,000 would be
$93.75 per year.

The St. Bernard Parish Council is scheduled to meet 3 p.m. Tuesday in its
Council Chambers, 8201 W. Judge Perez Dr. in Chalmette. (To view the full
agenda for the Tuesday council meeting, click here.)

Also at the Tuesday meeting, the council is expected to vote on the creation
of a new department to oversee various code violations and on an ordinance
amendment that would prevent the parish Office of Animal Control from seeing
privately-owned animals, except in matters of emergencies. (To read more
about those two ordinances, click here.)

Below is the list of the proposed coast restoration projects for the 2017
Coastal Master Plain update, as recommended by the St. Bernard Parish
Coastal Zone Advisory Committee and presented in the council resolution:

Strategic Stabilization Barrier: This project would construct a barrier
system in the Breton Sound and Chandeleur Sound. The barrier would start
close to the Mississippi River levee and move north easterly through the
Breton Sound area. The barrier will then follow the outer (eastern edge) of
the Biloxi marsh area eventually turning north and then north northeast. The
Barrier will terminate at the most northern point of the Biloxi Marsh. For
location, please see the Attachment 1 as provided by our consultants,
Coastal Environments, Inc.
St. Bernard Bioengineered Reef Zones: This project would provide soft
shoreline  protection (oyster reef applications) along the shorelines of the
Black Bay, Fortuna-Machias, Eloi and Boudreaux Estuaries, behind  the
Strategic Stabilization Barrier, to better protect areas from tidal surges
and catastrophic erosion.
Restoration of Chandeleur Barrier Island Complex: This project would restore
this valuable barrier island complex working with U.S. Department of
Interior to ensure wildlife preserve protection. Because of the benefit this
project could provide to three states--Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama--this restoration could be a "super-project" coordinated at a larger
level between the respective Governors of these three states and federal
authorities.
Bayou La Loutre Ridge Restoration Project: This project would restore and
raise the existing ridge 5-8 ft. to protect existing fishing villages.
Bayou Terre aux Boeufs Ridge Restoration Project: This project would restore
and raise the existing ridge 5-8 ft. to protect existing fishing villages.
Armoring of the Tidal Levee in Delacroix Island: This project would
implement a plan to armor the existing 3-mile long tidal levee at Delacroix
Island to protect from tidal surge.
Geologic Framework Preservation: Through Innovative Reef Building An
innovative restoration plan, approved by The Water Institute of the Gulf and
forwarded to CPRA for consideration, that would employ the use of vertical
oyster reefs and cultch-induced reef lagoons to reduce wave erosion,
immediately harden the shoreline and provide continuous shell by-product for
bottom and shoreline hardening at critical locations within the Biloxi Marsh
geologic framework.
Oysterville Project: Oysterville is a component of the tidal and surge
barrier that would extend across the St. Bernard - Plaquemines Parish
boundary at Bayou Terre au Boeufs and would include hard structure features
such as submersible concrete barge surge breakers and induced oyster reefs.
It would become a focal point for aquaculture, innovative approaches to
coastal restoration, ecotourism and other "green" projects. See Attachment 3
for location information.
Eastern Lake Borgne Shoreline Protection: This project would provide
shoreline protection through rock breakwaters of approximately 57,000 feet
of the eastern shore of Lake Borgne from Malheureux Point to the vicinity of
Point aux Marchettes to preserve shoreline integrity and reduce wetland
degradation from wave erosion.
MRGO Shoreline Protection: This project would provide shoreline protection
through rock breakwaters of approximately 133,000 feet of the north bank of
the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet from the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal to
Bayou La Loutre to preserve shoreline integrity and reduce wetland
degradation from wave erosion.
Biloxi Marsh Creation: This project would create approximately 33,280 acres
of marsh in the western portion of marsh in Biloxi Marsh from Oyster Bay to
Drum Bay to provide new wetland habitat, restore degraded marsh, and reduce
wave erosion.