New Orleans—The United States Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District, in close coordination with its local, state and federal partners, has proffered an emergency permit that allows the installation of riprap and submerging of a barge at Bayou Chene in St. Mary Parish.
“In the interest of public safety, our Regulatory Branch is operating under our NOD-20 emergency permitting procedures to expedite the review process for flood-fighting measures,” stated Col. Ed Fleming, New Orleans District commander. “We believe this specific project will help reduce the flow of water into areas in St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes that are potentially subjected to flooding.”
The Corps received the permit request from the St. Mary Levee District, St. Mary Parish Government, Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District and City of Morgan City on Friday, May 6, 2011. Using the NOD-20 emergency permit process, the District was able to review and proffer the permit request within 24 hours.
To ensure that the project’s benefits outweighed its potential detriments, the proffered permit contained the following five conditions:
Within 30 days of receiving this emergency authorization, the permittee must submit either a plan for restoring the area to pre-project conditions once the emergency is over or a Department of the Army permit application if any or all of the structures in place on a permanent basis.
Release no. 11-074