2017-0029
INTRODUCED BY: PAUL J. HOGAN, PE, COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE, DIVISION B
LARRY COCHRAN, PARISH PRESIDENT
RESOLUTION NO.
Title
A resolution of the St. Charles Parish Council, the St. Charles Parish Council acting as the governing authority of the Sunset Drainage District (the District), and Parish President Larry Cochran in support of the desire of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. to not install any type of berms/weirs/hydraulic structures within any canal(s) located within the Sunset Drainage District boundaries that could alter the drainage patterns or retention.
Body
WHEREAS, The District encompasses roughly 10,000 acres and contains drainage canals and pumping stations which protect thousands of people in the communities of Paradis, Des Allemands and Bayou Gauche; and,
WHEREAS, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (Chevron) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) entered into a Mitigation Banking Instrument dated effective June 2, 2005 (MBI) placing approximately 8,000 acres of its land located within the District into a wetlands mitigation bank known as the Paradis Mitigation Bank (Bank); and,
WHEREAS, upon execution of the MBI in June of 2005, Chevron entered into discussions with the District regarding a Water Management Agreement (WMA) as required in Article X.E of the MBI that would ultimately provide for the installation and maintenance of hydrologic structures located within various feeder canals in an attempt to introduce and maintain wetter conditions within each cell of the Bank; and,
WHEREAS, from the commencement of these negotiations, the District which was under no obligation or requirement to agree to the installation of hydraulic structures and expressed concerns about the effect that the proposed structures would have on the drainage capability of the District and the associated increase in risk to the flooding of structures located within the District; and,
WHEREAS, in August of 2014, Chevron received notice from the Corps that it was suspending Chevron’s ability to sell credits from the Bank until Chevron had in place a WMA agreement as required by the MBI regarding the installation, operation and maintenance of the proposed hydrologic structures; and,
WHEREAS, further discussions between the District and Chevron throughout 2015 did not result in the execution of a WMA; and,
WHEREAS, moving forward, Chevron intends to seek Corps approval to eliminate the requirement to install hydrologic structures within the District’s canals; and,
WHEREAS, St. Charles Parish is currently participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Levee Analysis Mapping Procedure (LAMP) which takes into account the existing drainage located with the District, which if the drainage were to be altered, would have severe impacts on the ongoing LAMP process and the significant amount of work performed to date; and,
WHEREAS, the wetland function has increased in the areas planted in Phase I and a portion of Phase II according to Chevron despite the absence of hydrologic structures indicating that passive drainage improvement activities, which include filling and grading of internal ditches and canals and plugging of culverts, evidenced by an increase in wetland acreage of approximately 249 acres between the 2005 and 2014 wetland delineations (24.6% increase); and,
WHEREAS, the tree survivability of saplings planted in wetland areas has been highly successful (86.1%) according to Chevron, which demonstrates that wetland function has improved in the absence of hydrologic structures; and,
WHEREAS, the District’s existing pumping regime would remain as-is by not installing because hydrologic structures which would therefore not affect the pumping rates and frequencies which would otherwise require constant adjustments and active management; and,
WHEREAS, by only performing passive drainage improvements, the Bank will have a self-sustaining drainage solution with a limited monitoring requirement and will not negatively affect the drainage within the District; and,
WHEREAS, as originally envisioned under the MBI, the objective of the hydrologic structures was to increase water delivered to wetland acres and effectively transform upland areas into wetland. But because upland buffer areas have important benefits to adjacent wetlands such as increased habitat variety, pollution filtration, sediment trapping and increase biodiversity, Chevron believes that there will be an increased net benefit to overall wetland function by retaining and restoring these upland buffer areas.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THAT WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL, do hereby offer this resolution of the St. Charles Parish Council, the St. Charles Parish Council acting as the governing authority of the Sunset Drainage District (the District), and Parish President Larry Cochran in support of the desire of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. to not install any type of berms/weirs/hydraulic structures within any canal(s) located within the Sunset Drainage District boundaries that could alter the drainage patterns or retention.
The foregoing resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
And the resolution was declared adopted this day of , 2017, to become effective five (5) days after publication in the Official Journal.
2017-0029 Resolution Chevron from SCP 1-30-2017
CHAIRMAN:
SECRETARY:
DLVD/PARISH PRESIDENT:
APPROVED : DISAPPROVED:
PARISH PRESIDENT:
RETD/SECRETARY:
AT: RECD BY: