Levee district to accept $5 million for Bayou Chene design

Officials continue to make progress preparing for construction of the $80 million Bayou Chene Flood Control and Diversion Project within the next 1 1/2 years.

The St. Mary Levee District Commission met Thursday at the Parish Courthouse.

The commission authorized Commission President Bill Hidalgo to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority for the district to accept $5 million for design of the Bayou Chene project and to issue a notice to proceed on the project’s design.

Under that agreement, the district would be eligible to receive reimbursement from the state for any money the district spends toward the Bayou Chene project design, Levee District Executive Director Tim Matte said.

This project involves installing a permanent floodgate that can be closed on Bayou Chene in Amelia to prevent parts of up to six parishes from backwater flooding due to the Atchafalaya River.

Those parishes are St. Mary, Terrebonne, lower St. Martin, Assumption, Lafourche and Iberville. Other work on nearby Avoca Island and Tabor Canal would also be required.

Last week, levee district officials announced that the district received the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulatory permit for construction of the Bayou Chene Flood Control and Diversion project. District officials applied for that permit in May 2013.

The $5 million from CPRA would allow the district to finish the final design phase and get the project ready to go to construction no later than April 2020, when money becomes available to the state through the federal Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, Matte said. The project will take multiple years to finish.

The CPRA has committed to providing a total of $80 million for the project and plans to go ahead and give $5 million of that for design work. Construction alone is estimated to cost $80 million.

So the levee district either has to raise an additional $5 million from its partnering parishes or try to get another $5 million in state capital outlay funds, Matte said.

Commissioners also authorized the district to issue between $10 million and $13 million in limited tax revenue bonds at a 3.86 percent fixed interest rate for 20 years to finance construction of the Bayou Teche Flood Protection project.

Construction is estimated to cost $12 million, and the district should receive $2 million in a grant through the Statewide Flood Control Program. Levee district leaders hope to get more state grants funds in the next few years to help pay for more of the project.

The project is meant to prevent potential flooding along Bayou Teche from the Franklin area to Centerville and consists of building a receiving structure, floodgate on Bayou Teche at its junction with Charenton Canal and levees to keep floodwaters from going around the structure.

Officials expect to finish design of the Bayou Teche project by January 2019 and could start construction soon after that. The state bond commission has already approved the district to borrow the funds, Matte said. The project will take a couple of years to complete.

District leaders have about a week to decide whether they want to bond $10 million or $13 million, which would allow the district to complete the Yokeley levee extension project in the Franklin area.

The Bayou Teche and Yokeley projects would essentially be the final pieces to be able to have full flood protection of west St. Mary Parish from Charenton Canal to Wax Lake Outlet with openings closed by floodgates on Hanson Canal, Yellow Bayou and Franklin Canal, Matte said.

State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, thanked the district for working to ensure that portion of the parish is protected.

“That basically concludes what we’ve been trying to do for years,” Jones said.

The commission authorized the district to submit its annual state capital outlay funding request and apply for funds on the Bayou Chene project, levees west of Charenton and the Lakeside closure as part of the Morgan City Levee Improvements Project.

The levee district hasn’t yet decided what the plan is to provide flood protection for Lakeside Subdivision, but is submitting the funding request anyway, Matte said.

In other business, the commission

—Approved a change order to the Justa Street portion of the Morgan City Levee Improvements in the amount $70,092 to replace about 180 feet of pipe and install man holes and authorized Hidalgo to sign a cooperative endeavor agreement with St. Mary Parish Consolidated Gravity Drainage District 2. The drainage district will reimburse the levee district for the cost of the repair.

—Authorized installation of openings for maintenance access in the floodwalls at a cost of $45,280.