P.O. Box 24378 New Orleans, LA 70184 504.324.2270
For Immediate Release
Contact: Julie Morgan, 504-862-2587
November 26, 2007
Corps hosts public meeting to present alternatives for permanent protection at
outfall canals
NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is hosting
a public meeting on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
6249 Canal Blvd., to provide details on the broad range of alternatives being
considered to provide permanent protection for the 17th Street, Orleans Avenue
and London Avenue outfall canals.
An open house begins at 6:00 p.m. Corps project managers will be available to
provide one-on-one feedback on the possible alternatives. A formal presentation
of all the alternatives will begin at 7:00 p.m. followed by a question and
answer period.
The meeting is part of the Corps' commitment to a series of public meetings as a
part of the National Environmental Policy Act alternative arrangements. Content
of the Corps presentation will focus on the alternatives and their possible
environmental and human impacts, which are currently being investigated in
Individual Environmental Report 5 - entitled Permanent Protection for the
Outfall Canals, 17th Street, Orleans Avenue and London Avenue Canal in Orleans
and Jefferson Parish. The meeting will provide the public the opportunity to
learn more about the alternatives under consideration and provide feedback on
which alternative they prefer.
The Corps, together with engineering and development consultants, academia,
local government, resource agencies and the public, developed the alternatives
which provide a snapshot of the various solutions being considered:
a.. No Action: no further actions other than maintenance would be done to the
projects that are now in place; the Interim Control Structures would remain in
place for the life of the project.
b.. Non-Structural: includes floodproofing by raising homes and businesses, or
real estate acquisition or relocation of residences within the Orleans East Bank
sub basin to a comparable residence selected by the homeowner.
c.. Improved Parallel Protection: includes alternatives such as concrete lined
canals or replacing "I-walls" with more robust "T-walls."
d.. Canal Closures: includes various alternative gate configurations to block
Lake Pontchartrain storm surge from entering the outfall canals.
e.. Canal Closures and Pumps: variations of this alternative include a
pressurized conduit system, conversion of the interim control structures to
permanent systems, or construction of new permanent gated or closure structures
and pump stations at or near the mouths of the canals which would concurrently
block storm surge while allowing for drainage of city stormwater.
f.. Lake Pontchartrain Barrier Plan: first investigated in the 1972 Lake
Pontchartrain and Vicinity Environmental Impact Statement, this system would
provide a barrier between Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico.
Additionally, the Corps is looking at various water diversion projects that
would decrease the capacity demands of any pump station installed on the outfall
canals. These diversion projects include options such as diverting water from
the 17th Street Canal to the Mississippi River through Hoey's Basin and from the
London Avenue Canal to the Industrial Canal.
The Corps encourages the public to provide written comments on the alternatives
for the hurricane protection system by mail, e-mail or by visiting
www.nolaenvironmental.gov at any time throughout the environmental analysis
period.
Questions or comments concerning proposed hurricane and storm damage reduction
actions should be addressed to: Gib Owen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, PM-RS,
P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, LA 70160-0267; phone: 504-862-1337; fax;
504-862-2088 or by e-mail at: mvnenvironmental@usace.army.mil. For more
information or to sign up to be on a meeting notification list please visit the
following web site: www.nolaenvironmental.gov.
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Cheryn Robles
Public Affairs
New Orleans, LA
US Army Corps of Engineers
504-862-2037