Port board president urges letters in support of energy industry

The Port of Morgan City board heard good news about funding for dredging and heard a call to support the energy industry as state and federal governments ponder incentives for going green.
At Monday’s monthly meeting, the port staff’s Cindy Cutrera reported on a recent meeting of the Louisiana Task Force on Climate Initi-atives. The task force was created by Gov. John Bel Edwards in November to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28% of 2005 levels by 2025.
The task force contains representatives of the energy industry as well as government, economic development entities, academia and environmental groups.
Cutrera, the port staff’s economic development manager, said some of the comments at a meeting last week raised concerns about support for the oil and gas industry, historically a major source of employment for this region. One comment at the meeting said that energy companies will have to embrace alternative sources or go away, Cutrera said.
Joseph Cain, president of the port board, urged members to write letters to key officials in support of the energy industry.
“That noise gets attention,” Cain said. “It’s effective. It really is.”
The Task Force on Climate Initiatives was created to “investigate and make recommendations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions originating in Louisiana to achieve the stated greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals in order to improve the health and welfare of the people of Louisiana and advance Louisiana’s economic and energy profile,” according to the Governor’s Office website.
Its goals are to find ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% by 2025, 40-50% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.
Also Monday, the board heard about the inclusion of $18 million in the Army Corps of Engineers work plan funding this year for the lower Atchafalaya region.
The original federal budget appropriation that could be directed toward dredging of local waterways was about $4 million, barely enough to pay for a quarter of some of the recent projects designed to keep important commercial channels open.
Then, in mid-January, the Corps work plan was finalized with the extra $18 million for this region.
Port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade told The Daily Review last month that he hopes the money will be directed toward dredging between Crewboat Cut and Eugene Island, where high water has deposited sediment that creates navigation problems.
Charles Brittingham, who represents the port’s interests in Washington, called the $18 million “a huge success for the Port of Morgan City.”
He said upcoming budget deliberations may continue to start with a relatively small initial appropriation followed by attempts to get a share of supplemental funding.
“We’ll continue to keep fighting year after year for more money,” Brittingham said.
The board heard that the dredge vessel created by Brice Civil Constructors continues its work south of Eugene Island filtering out the sticky fluff mud that can foul vessel propulsion systems. Keeping this bar channel open is one of the keys to bringing bigger vessels to the port.
The Brice dredge was visited recently by a military celebrity: Maj. Gen. Diana M. Holland, commander of the Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division.
Holland got to see the Brice dredge in operation and went aboard the vessel.
Holland is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran whose medals include the Bronze Star. A U.S. Military Academy graduate, she became the first woman named to be commandant of cadets at West Point in 2015.
In other action:
—Lt. Hayley Gipson reported that the Coast Guard responded to 13 incidents in local waterways: four in which a vessel struck a fixed object, two in which a vessel struck a bridge, five groundings and two vessels that lost propulsion.
Gipson said 2,035 vessel transits were reported in January in the area it serves here, down 16% from January 2020.
—The board heard Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna has reappointed Adam Mayon to the board for another four-year term.
Board member Tim Mathews continues to serve on the board pending appointment of his successor. Mathews’ second four-year term expired in December.
Dragna also served on the board and resigned after his election as mayor in December. His successor has yet to be appointed.