New Orleans — Fifty years after digging the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet shipping passage and destroying vast wetland areas, the Army Corps of Engineers has begun to look at restoring the damage the channel caused in the swampy landscape southeast of New Orleans.
The agency announced Thursday plans to conduct public hearings and compile a report on what measures can be taken to restore those wetlands.
“The Corps will evaluate a full range of comprehensive restoration measures to restore important estuarine components and ecosystem processes within the areas affected by the MRGO navigation channel,” the agency said.
For decades, residents and environmentalists have railed against the shipping channel as they watched it grow in size due to erosion, bringing with it daily tidal flows of salt water that killed marsh and swamp forests.
After Hurricane Katrina, the outcry against the channel gained momentum, prompting Congress to allow the corps to close the shipping route. The corps plans to hire contractors to plug the channel by June 2009 with rocks.
The route was originally dug in the late 1950s as a shortcut between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans. But it never took off and was not widely used by ship traffic. In part, that was because ships have to pass through locks to reach the main port on the Mississippi River when they take the MRGO.
Despite the lack of use and wetlands destruction, the channel remained open until Katrina.
After the storm, scientists and residents blamed the MRGO for flooding in eastern portions of the metropolitan area. A lawsuit over that allegation is pending and the corps faces paying residents tens of millions of dollars in damages.
“For 40 years, it’s been a cancer eating up the coast,” said Carlton Dufrechou, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, a group advocating the restoration of the lake system surrounding New Orleans.
“The plug and the restoration of the MRGO are the most critical projects for southeast Louisiana,” he said. “There is nothing that has a higher priority.”
The plug — closing the MRGO with rocks — may be close at hand, but restoration has a long way to go.
The corps says it plans to finish the first step of drawing up a draft environmental impact report by March 2010. After that, the corps would have to do more environmental and engineering studies to determine what steps to take. Then, Congress would need to approve the eventual restoration plan.
Congress asked the corps to close the MRGO and come up with a restoration plan last year. The work is to be paid entirely by the federal government.
To restore the ecosystem around the MRGO, the corps is looking at building water-control structures like gates, weirs and sills, stopping salt water from coming inland, diverting new sediment into the area, planting marshes and restoring natural ridges.
The corps’ decisions will be driven by cost and environmental considerations, the agency said.
Public meetings will be held throughout the process, the agency said. The first meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3 in Chalmette.
Local News
Army Corps looks at restoring wetlands damage
- Local News
-
-
SAFETY DAY
Picayune Police officers made a visit to the First Baptist Church of Picayune’s preschool class for their Community Helpers Safety Day. During the event the kids got to meet police officers and trigger lights and sirens in patrol vehicles.
- Escapee caught in county Pearl River County Sheriff’s deputies have captured the inmate who escaped from Mississippi Department of Corrections custody on Friday after attending his father’s wake in Picayune.
- Council discusses which funds to spend first On the same day as the ground breaking for the addition to the historic City Hall, city council members discussed which funds to spend first in its construction.
-
Poplarville aldermen honor Holliday, get audit report briefing
The city board of aldermen honored former District Three Supervisor Hudson Holliday at its Tuesday night meeting.
Mayor Billy Spiers presented Holliday with a framed resolution of appreciation for his dedication and service to the city while serving as county supervisor.
-
MRI INSTALLED
This $1.2 million Magnetic Resonance Imaging equipment was installed at the new location of Highland Community Hospital.
-
Hall suspected of robbery after escaping
A man who escaped from jail after attending his father’s wake is suspected of having carried out an armed robbery on the Texas-Arkansas state line. Johnny Hall escaped from Mississippi Department of Corrections custody on Friday while attending his father’s wake in Picayune.
-
City Hall expansion groundbreaking held
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday at the construction site for the expansion of the historic Picayune City Hall. “You can see our future when you look down Goodyear Boulevard. You see Chimney Square, our high school, The Link at First Baptist Church, Jack Read Park and then our historic City Hall.
-
PRC athletic director says he’ll recommend random drug testing
Pearl River Central athletic director Andy Kivlan told the school board at its Monday night meeting that he will most likely recommend that students participating in extracurricular activities, including band and ROTC, be subject to random drug screening.
-
Supervisors adopt resolution encouraging more economic development in South Miss.
Following a short presentation by State Sen. Tony Smith (R-Picayune), the board of supervisors adopted on Monday a resolution encouraging state officials and agencies to exercise “fairness and parity” regarding location of new industries in Mississippi.
-
MDEQ wants comprehensive waste disposal plan from county
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has told Pearl River County it wants a comprehensive waste disposal plan for the county. Supervisors indicated at their Monday meeting that they are not happy with the request.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
