Hurricane Page
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority—West
7001 River Road Marrero, LA 70072  |  P: 504.340.0318  |  F: 504.371.6868
 
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Authority News

August 30, 2010:
Defenses Upgraded, but Some Seek More. The following news clipping ran in The Wall Street Journal on August 28, 2010: NEW ORLEANS— If Hurricane Katrina hit this city tomorrow, it would likely cause only light flooding, according to U.S. government and other engineers.
A new ring of defenses costing nearly $15 billion—expected to be completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next June—will provide the Crescent City the best protection it has ever had from a storm, the Corps and other experts agree.
(read more)

August 10, 2010:
Symposium Studies Causes of a Changing Louisiana Landscape. The following article appears in the August issue of the West Bank Beacon: A variety of factors both past and present could be responsible for the evolving landscape of south Louisiana and the state’s dramatic loss of land, all according to experts assembled by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West (SLFPA-W) and other agencies. (read more)

June 30, 2010:
Reason For Louisiana Flooding To Be Examined By State's Top Geological Experts At Symposium. Top experts in Louisiana geology will discuss the state’s flood protection system at the fourth annual “Geological Facts of Life for Flood Protection in Coastal Louisiana” symposium. The symposium is Thursday, July 15 at 1 p.m. in the West Bank council chambers of the Jefferson Parish General Government Office Building on 200 Derbigny St. in Gretna. (read more)

June 28, 2010:
The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West held an open house in May to unveil its state-of-the art command center and safe house. Click here for more information and to view pictures from the event. 

June 21, 2010:
Fourth Annual “Geological Facts of Life for Flood Protection in Coastal Louisiana” symposium scheduled for July 15 at 1 p.m.  (read more)

May 27, 2010:
West Bank levee officials, Corps of Engineers unveil safe house. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on May 25, 2010: Five years ago, with Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the metro area, workers with the West Bank levee district weren't equipped to deal with the disastrous conditions that lay ahead. (read more)

May 25, 2010:
Corps of Engineers awards contracts to stormproof three Jefferson Parish pump stations. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on May 24, 2010: The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded two contracts to stormproof three drainage pumping stations in Jefferson Parish so they can remain operable during and after tropical storm. (read more)

May 5, 2010:
Bayou Segnette to GIWW. The following article ran in the May issue of the West Bank Beacon: On a map, the portion of the West Bank and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project that begins at Bayou Segnette and winds its way to the Harvey Canal has lots of twists and turns, primarily because it is designed to protect major population and business centers to the north and east as well as environmentally sensitive marshes. (read more)

April 27, 2010:
Corps to update public Tuesday on West Bank's Western Tie-In. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on April 26, 2010: The Army Corps of Engineers is hosting a meeting Tuesday to update the progress of the Western Tie-In project. (read more)

April 21, 2010:
Hurricane protection plan demands more specificity, scientists and engineers say. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on April 16, 2010: The final draft of a long-delayed Army Corps of Engineers study on how to protect New Orleans and other populous areas of Louisiana's coastline from catastrophic hurricanes remains deeply flawed, experts who reviewed the study for the corps said on Friday. (read more)

April 13, 2010:
Flood Protection-Western Tie-In. The following article ran in the April issue of the West Bank Beacon: Salespeople frequently use the term “seal the deal” to describe discussions that end in an actual sale. For flood protection work on the West Bank, sealing the deal means tieing the massive West Bank and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project with the Mississippi River levee in eastern St. Charles Parish and holding back surges from a nearby lake, “sealing” nearby communities against surges. (read more)

April 12, 2010:
SLFPA-W President Susan Maclay and a representative from the Corps of Engineers discuss the progress on West Bank hurricane protection projects in an interview with Dennis Woltering of WWL-TV. Click here to view the video.

April 8, 2010:
Pump, floodgate maintenance costs are subject of proposed federal legislation. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on April 7, 2010: Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter plan to introduce legislation directing the Army Corps of Engineers to operate a huge drainage pumping station and floodgate being built south of Harvey, resolving a disagreement between the corps and the West Bank levee authority about who should handle the estimated $5 million-a-year task. (read more)

April 6, 2010:
Corps of Engineers announces $59 million in hurricane protection projects in West Jefferson, St. Charles Parish. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on April 1, 2010: The Army Corps of Engineers has announced the award of three contracts worth a combined $59 million as part of its ongoing work to enhance flood protection on the west bank of Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. (read more)

April 1, 2010:
Levee lowered, debris removed; now the rebuilding begins. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 30, 2010: Almost a mile of Lake Pontchartrain levee in East Jefferson has been lowered to eliminate a debris field that engineers said could have made it more vulnerable to seepage and erosion during severe storms.      (read more)

March 30, 2010:
Corps of Engineers moving ahead with London Avenue work despite concerns from outside engineers. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 25, 2010: The Army Corps of Engineers is pushing ahead with plans to reinforce about 2,300 linear feet of particularly vulnerable London Avenue Canal flood wall, even though a technical re-analysis of the entire canal isn't complete and outside engineers critiquing the process have some concerns that aren't yet resolved. (read more)

March 25, 2010:
Corps of Engineers awards $5.3 million floodgate contract in St. Bernard Parish. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 24, 2010: The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $5.3 million contract to build a floodgate across Louisiana 46 in the eastern end of St. Bernard Parish, which will tie together two large stretches of concrete-topped levees that will eventually ring most populated areas of the parish. (read more)

March 23, 2010:
Coastal outline approved. The following news clipping ran in The Advocate on March 18, 2010: Although final revisions continue to be made, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana approved an annual plan of work during its Wednesday meeting in Baton Rouge. (read more)

March 19, 2010:
World's largest drainage pumping station being built near Harvey. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 17, 2010: Even though he knew what to expect because he had helped design it, Kevin Wagner was still in awe Wednesday as he stood on the foundation of the world's largest drainage pumping station being built south of Harvey. (read more)

March 19, 2010:
West bank levee officials forge stronger lines of communication with Corps of Engineers. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 16, 2010: While inspecting a floodwall under construction south of Harvey, west bank levee district director Giuseppe Miserendino recently noticed small chunks of concrete scattered near the wall. (read more)

To view more pictures from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Project click on the link:

http://photos.nola.com/4500/gallery/gulf_intracoastal_waterway_west_closure_project/index.html

March 16, 2010:
Some hurricane projects still being delayed by contractor protests, Corps of Engineers officials say. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 12, 2010: Bid challenges continue to hamstring a major hurricane flood reduction project in St. Bernard Parish, where a second formal protest was filed this week by the joint venture that originally won a floodwall construction contract there last fall, then lost it two weeks ago to a competitor who filed the first protest. (read more)

March 11, 2010:
Louisiana moving forward with hurricane protection on the West Bank. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 10, 2010: Louisiana is forging ahead with hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects that, if carried to fruition, will slow the rate of land loss not seen since the 1930s, Gov. Bobby Jindal told the West Bank business community Wednesday. (read more)

March 9, 2010:
Corps of Engineers awards St. Charles levee contract. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 8, 2010:  The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $9.5 million contract to build a new floodwall at Cross Bayou in the St. Charles Parish East Bank Hurricane Protection levee. (read more)

March 5, 2010:
White House announces road map for coastal restoration in Louisiana, Mississippi. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 4, 2010:  A White House working group of Cabinet-level officials on Thursday outlined a road map for speeding the design and construction of coastal restoration projects in Louisiana and Mississippi, and pledged to give coastal restoration the same priority as navigation and flood protection in future federal decision-making. (read more)

March 2, 2010:
Flood-protection innovations discussed at conference at old U.S. Mint. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on February 26, 2010: Engineers and politicians should be more open to new technologies and integrated systems of flood prevention and mitigation, German engineer Erik Pasche said Friday at a conference on water management and urban planning in risk-prone communities that was held at the old U.S. Mint in New Orleans. (read more)

February 26, 2010:
WB flood protection agency says Web site benefits businesses. The following news clipping from CityBusiness was posted online February 24, 2010: The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West has launched a Web site it says will help West Bank families and businesses be prepared for future floods and keep current on project progress. (read more)

February 25, 2010:
St. Charles Parish applies for permit for second phase of west bank hurricane levee. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on February 18, 2010: After more than a decade of negotiation with state and federal agencies, St. Charles Parish has applied for a permit for the second phase of a west bank hurricane protection levee. (read more)

February 23, 2010:
Corps of Engineers approves levee clay borrow sites in Plaquemines, St. Charles and Ascension parishes. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on February 18, 2010: The Army Corps of Engineers has approved seven more privately-owned borrow sites from which clay can be purchased to build area levees. (read more)

February 19, 2010:
Corps awards final portion of Bayou Segnette project. The following news clipping is from CityBusiness from February 17, 2010: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract for the final portion of its storm surge-protection project at Bayou Segnette. (read more)

February 17, 2010:
Major coastal restoration financing starts, slowly, in Barack Obama's 2011 budget plan. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on February 1, 2010: President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal year 2011 budget includes the first $35.6 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to construct larger coastal Louisiana restoration projects, but falls far short of the money allocated to similar major environmental restoration projects elsewhere in the country. (read more)

February 11, 2010:
A news release from the Authority: SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA FLOOD PROTECTION AUTHORITY-WEST LAUNCHES
WEB SITE DESIGNED TO KEEP WEST BANK SAFE FROM SURGES. To help West Bank families and businesses remain safe from flooding caused by storm surges, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West has launched a Web site – www.slfpaw.org – containing a wealth of information, including incident reporting and guidance, project descriptions and updates, news, emergency contacts and more. (read more)

February 9, 2010:
Coastal restoration and levees would share $600 million from state in fiscal year 2011 under proposal. The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on January 28, 2010: Louisiana expects to spend $600 million of state money on levee, coastal restoration and coastal infrastructure projects in fiscal year 2011, according to the draft coastal restoration and hurricane protection plan released Wednesday. (read more)

February 4, 2010:
A letter from Board President Susan Maclay. The 2009 hurricane season ended peacefully, and for that everyone in southeast Louisiana is thankful. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – West (SLFPA-W), in cooperation with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, worked hard in 2009 to help provide protection from hurricane flooding for citizens living and working within its jurisdiction of the west bank of Orleans Parish and most of the west bank of Jefferson Parish.
(read more)