The last of three Floodplain Resilience presentations was given in Madisonville, La. to engage citizens and decision makers about the 2014-2018 wetland loss trends in the Parishes in the Lake Pontchartrain drainage basin.
Healthy Gulf Participated in the “Focus on St. Tammany” forum last Friday night and addressed floodplain and wetland issues on a panel of speakers.
The first of two community meetings on wetlands and floodplain resiliency was held in Hammond at the old train depot. Wetland fill permit data from the past 5 years for St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Livingston, East Baton Rouge, St. John and St. James Parishes was presented in a series of maps showing where impacts have been most intense. We also looked at available mitigation banks to offset those fill permits. Possible restoration of sand and gravel mines was also presented as a way to stabilize river floodplains and restore riverine wetlands above population centers along the Interstate 12 Corridor along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Floodplain Resilience Presentation Debut in Hammond, La. Read More »
A spoil bank is the pile of soil and debris left behind by the excavation and dredging machines that dig a trench through the swamp. In coastal Louisiana, all of the pipelines are buried or submerged (as opposed to being built above ground). The method for burying the pipe, then, is to dig an enormous trench. The material from the trench is then dumped right next to the new channel, and suddenly a wall is created that cuts off water and organisms from each other that were connected before. Companies are required by law, according to their permits, to return these spoil banks to their natural state once constructions is complete. However, very few companies comply with this stipulation in their permit leading to a basin filled with spoil banks, limited access to bayous and less productive crawfishing harvests.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline: Field Notes Read More »
At the Sun Herald newspaper’s recent Community Forum on the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway and its effects on coastal Mississippi, the discussion moved from the advertised topic to Louisiana’s Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion, as yet unbuilt, but part of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s coastal master plan. Unfortunately, the sponsoring Louisiana agency, CPRA, was not represented on the Sun Herald’s speaker panel to take part in the discussion.
MDEQ should protect people, and not wedge projects into communities that already have plenty of health and environmental problems to deal with. The August 13th Permit Board meeting was another example of why the MDEQ Environmental Permit Process needs to be examined by the Legislature soon, and made more responsive to the citizens whose health and property are meant to be protected by the agency.
North Gulfport citizens address MDEQ Permit Board on inland rail port Read More »
This is a guest blog from Cameron Bertron, a summer legal extern with Healthy Gulf. Cameron, a 3L at Tulane University Law School, is a Gulf Coast native and enjoyer of all things wetlands except mosquitoes. The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth-largest body of water in the world, and it is in part bordered
Wetlands at the ballot box Read More »
In the wake of Hurricane Barry, a lot of ink was spilled over whether the projections of the storm were too dire or not dire enough, whether the city of New Orleans made the right call to tell people to shelter in place, and whether we can trust the Army Corps to keep us safe.
Hurricane Barry’s wake-up call Read More »
The crisis for Mississippi coastal fisheries due to the prolonged opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway was discussed at MDMR’s monthly meeting.
Spillway Effects on Mississippi’s Coastal Fisheries: How Bad is it? Read More »
Healthy Gulf’s write-up of the RESTORE Council’s public comment meeting in Long Beach, Ms on their Planning Framework Draft for use in Funded Priority List 3 which will be published sometime in 2020. Comment period on this planning draft is open until June 12th, 2019.
RESTORE Council Planning Framework Draft – Mississippi Public Comment Meeting Read More »