NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District has announced open houses to solicit input from residents in neighborhoods adjacent to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lock on ways to offset community impacts related to the IHNC Lock Replacement.
These meetings are being held to gather feedback for the Community Opportunities Plan of Action (COPA), which is within the authorization of the Community Impact Mitigation Plan, a program within the IHNC Lock replacement study that seeks to address direct and indirect social and cultural impacts in the Bywater, Holy Cross, the Lower Ninth Ward, and St. Claude neighborhoods related to construction activities and operation of the lock replacement.
These open houses provide residents the opportunity to recommend community features or programs to be considered in the final COPA that will be a part of the final draft of the lock replacement’s General Reevaluation Report scheduled for completion February 2025.
The intent of these open houses is to listen and gather feedback for development of the COPA. When the study is finalized, additional public meetings will be held providing an overview of the current lock and proposed design of the canal and replacement lock. Once the study is completed the project will require congressional appropriations before it can begin.
The meeting dates and times are:
Monday, December 11, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Andrew P. Sanchez & Copelin-Byrd Multi-Service Center
1616 Fats Domino Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Marigny Opera House
725 Ferdinand Street, New Orleans, LA 70117
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Villa St. Maurice
500 St. Maurice Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117
Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 4:30 until 6:30 p.m.
Stallings St. Claude Recreation Center
4300 St Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117
Additionally, this online opportunity (https://gather.cdmsmith.com/v/YbjN3GAnqA7) is available for anyone in the community to learn about the project and share their views.
About the IHNC Lock: The IHNC Lock is located in the Industrial Canal which runs through a highly urbanized area within the New Orleans city limits. It joins Lake Pontchartrain to the north with the Mississippi River to the south. The canal also connects the eastern segment of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) with the Mississippi River. The Lock, built in 1923, is not efficient. The Corps was authorized to replace the lock in 1956 to improve efficiency and reliable passage of waterborne traffic locking through the IHNC. To read more about the project, visit https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/IHNC-Lock-Replacement/.
The Community Impact Mitigation Plan authorization was outlined in the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 and instructs the Corps of Engineers to provide for mitigation or compensation, or both, for the direct and indirect social and cultural impacts that the project will have on the affected areas.
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