NEW ORLEANS, LA - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, has released Individual Environmental Report 31 entitled, “Contractor Furnished Borrow Material, Number 7,” for 30-day public review. The environmental document discusses the human and environmental impacts from possible excavation of ten Contractor-Furnished borrow sites that may contain clay material suitable for use in the Greater New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System.
IER 31 is currently available for public review and comment at www.nolaenvironmental.gov. The deadline to submit comments is October 16, 2010.
Proposed borrow sites described in IER 31 include:
• Acosta 2 - located in St. Bernard Parish near LA-46
• Idlewild Stage 2 - located on the west bank of Plaquemines Parish near Oakville
• King Mine - located in Hancock County, MS near Pearlington
• Levis - located in St. Tammany Parish between US-190 and I-10
• Lilly Bayou - located in East Baton Rouge Parish near the intersection of US-61 and LA-64
• Port Bienville - located in Hancock County, MS near Pearlington
• Raceland Raw Sugars - located in Lafourche Parish near Raceland
• River Birch - Landfill Expansion - located on the west bank of Jefferson Parish
• Scarsdale - located on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish near LA-39
• Spoil Area - located in St. Bernard Parish adjacent to the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
Information about proposed Contractor Furnished borrow sites is provided to the Corps by individual landowners who are responsible for soil boring and testing, and acquiring state and Federal environmental clearances. After gathering the necessary data and obtaining the appropriate clearances, landowners submit a proposal to the New Orleans District. The New Orleans District analyzes the potential environmental impacts from the proposed borrow areas in IERs.
Once a site is approved by the New Orleans District Commander, the borrow site is placed on a list of potential Contractor-Furnished sources for borrow material that may be used to construct earthen levees in the hurricane system. Use of the clay requires an agreement between private entities, such as a landowner or construction contractor. At no point in time does the landowner have an agreement with Corps. Additionally, there are no guarantees that a landowner’s proposed borrow site will ever be used in conjunction with the construction of the hurricane system.
The IER process allows the Corps to expedite the environmental review required of all federally funded projects while fully complying with the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act. The Corps encourages the public to provide written comments on IERs by mail, e-mail or by visiting www.nolaenvironmental.gov at any time throughout the comment period.
Questions or comments concerning proposed actions should be addressed to:
Patricia Leroux
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
P.O. Box 60267
New Orleans, LA 70160-0267
Phone: 504-862-1544
Fax: 504-862-2088
E-mail: mvnenvironmental@usace.army.mil.
For more information or to sign up to be on a public meeting notification list please visit the following Web site:
www.nolaenvironmental.gov.