Coastal money urged for Cameron
Published 7:40 am Saturday, December 20, 2014
For the first time, the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Technical Committee has recommended $88.1 million in coastal restoration projects for Cameron Parish as the top-funded projects for the 24th project priority list.
During a meeting in Baton Rouge last week, the committee recommended that the estimated $28.3 million No Name Bayou marsh creation and nourishment project for the Calcasieu-Sabine watershed be the top-funded project for phase one engineering and design work. The panel also recommended marsh creation at Oyster Bayou and the Cameron-Creole watershed Grand Bayou as its top two projects for phase two construction funding.
The committee will meet Jan. 22 to consider approving the recommended projects for phase one and phase two funding. Federal funding from CWPPRA is used for wetland restoration and other coastal protection projects.
The No Name Bayou project will create and nourish 533 acres of marsh and include a 16.5-mile levee along Calcasieu Lake. The project also calls for five concrete water control structures to prevent saltwater intrusion.
The estimated $31.2 million Oyster Bayou project would create 510 acres of saline marsh and nourish 90 existing acres of marsh.
The Cameron-Creole project has an estimated price tag of $28.7 million and calls for dredging 3 million cubic yards of material from Calcasieu Lake and creating marsh in two areas north of Grand Bayou. The work would restore just over 600 acres of brackish marsh and nourish seven existing acres.
Calcasieu Parish assistant planner and coastal zone manager Laurie Cormier discussed the recommendations during the Police Jury’s meeting Thursday. She said that “Christmas came early” for Southwest Louisiana coastal projects.
Police juror appointed
Calcasieu Police Jury President Dennis Scott was recently elected as the president of the Parishes Against Coastal Erosion, a group made up of 20 coastal parishes that works to protect the state’s coastline.
Cormier said this is the first time a president was chosen from Southwest Louisiana.
Scott’s term will last a year. He has served on PACE for three years.
Jamie Gates
