NAME OF APPLICANT: Livingston Parish Airport District, c/o ELOS Environmental, Inc., Attn: Flynn Daigle, 607 W. Morris Street, Hammond, LA 70403.
LOCATION OF WORK: In Sections 4, 9, 10, & 16, T7S-R4E, just south of Interstate 12, southeast of Walker, Louisiana, in Livingston Parish, within the Pontchartrain Basin in the hydrologic unit (HUC 08070202), as shown on the attached drawings (Latitude 30.457742 N, Longitude, -90.814678 W).
The work described below was partially completed prior to obtaining a Department of the Army permit and was in violation of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act. All legal issues concerning the unauthorized work have since been deferred.
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant has requested an after-the-fact Department of the Army authorization to clear, grade, excavate and deposit fill and/or aggregate material to construct and maintain an airport facility (Livingston Executive Airport) to include parking lot, terminal, runways, utilities and drainage infrastructure. Approximately 1,558 cubic yards of clay, 60,723 cubic yards of concrete, and 17,231 cubic yards of gravel material would be deposited to achieve required grade elevation requirements and approx. 78,512 cubic yards of native material will be excavated with approx. 116.25 cubic yards to be re-deposited on site. Approx. 0.82 acres of waters of the US and 5.52 acres of wetlands were impacted by the placement of fill material prior to authorization; 3.37 acres will be restored to natural grades and impacts to 2.42 acres of wetlands and 0.55 acres of waters will be evaluated after-the-fact. The proposed project is situated on approximately 93 acres of a 284-acre tract and proposes to impact a total of 36.98 acres of wetlands and 4.29 acres of waters of the US including those evaluated after-the-fact.
MITIGATION: The applicant proposes to avoid additional direct impacts and minimize secondary impacts to the maximum extent practicable by limiting the construction activity to the designated construction areas onsite, utilizing best management practices for erosion and siltation control during and after the construction phase of the project, disposing of all removed fill and vegetation not approved as fill material by burning on-site, and by proposing only temporary impacts to approx. 77.77 acres of wetlands via hand-clearing activity ensuring all natural elevations remain.
As compensation for unavoidable wetland impacts, the applicant proposes to use a Corps approved mitigation bank within the watershed of impact. If authorized, the project will receive approval from all appropriate local drainage authorities and sewerage agencies.
The applicant may be required to fully or partially restore the site to pre-project conditions if issuance of a permit is determined to be contrary to the public interest.