Army Corps of Engineers participates in Terrebonne Parish Coastal Day

Photo By Ryan Labadens | Col. Cullen Jones (third from right), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District commander, poses with other USACE Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Project team members while participating in the Terrebonne Parish Coastal Day (TPCD) held June 15, 2023, in Houma, La. Overall, these types of events provide the Corps of Engineers the opportunity to engage with the public and stakeholders within the district so that they can promote a better understanding of the Corps’ role in flood risk reduction, and the mission and responsibilities of USACE in South Louisiana. (U.S. Army courtesy photo)  

HOUMA, LA, UNITED STATES

06.22.2023

Story by Ryan Labadens 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District

Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District, participated in the Terrebonne Parish Coastal Day (TPCD) held June 15, 2023, at the Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center in Houma, La.

This annual event, which is free and open to the public, serves as an interactive showcase of Terrebonne Parish’s flood risk reduction and coastal restoration projects. It provides parish residents and other visitors a venue for learning more about the flood risk reduction methods and structures already in place, such as flood gates, levees, lock systems and pump stations.

Additionally, Coastal Day gives organizations like the Corps of Engineers the opportunity to make presentations and answer questions about flood risk reduction studies and construction projects currently underway in that portion of the New Orleans District’s area of responsibility.

While there, Col. Cullen Jones, USACE New Orleans District commander, expressed the Corps’ commitment to expediting work on the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Project, a hurricane and storm damage risk reduction (HSDRR) project involving a 98-mile alignment of earthen levees, floodgates, environmental water control structures, road/railroad gates, and fronting protection for existing pump stations.

This system is being designed to reduce the risk of damage related to flooding for the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, where a deterioration of coastal marsh has led to an increased risk of flooding and inundation. The project scope encompasses most of coastal Louisiana approximately 60 miles southwest of New Orleans, and it includes portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

Other local and states officials provided presentations at the event, including Chip Kline, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) chairman, Reggie Dupre, Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District executive director, and State Delegation Members from Louisiana districts 20, 21, and 51-54.

Corps personnel also set up displays and equipment in the civic center for Coastal Day so they could interact with Terrebonne Parish residents and other guests who had questions about the Army Corps of Engineers’ involvement in the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Project. Other Corps personnel who participated in the event included Mark Wingate, USACE New Orleans deputy district engineer, project managers Lacy Shaw and Capt. Ashley Bransom, and other project team members: Jordan Logarbo, Sandra Stiles, Charlie Brandstetter, Daniel Marsalone, Kent Hebert, Cody Parks and James Jones.

Overall, these types of events provide the Corps of Engineers the opportunity to engage with the public and stakeholders within the district so that they can promote a better understanding of the Corps’ role in flood risk reduction, and the mission and responsibilities of USACE in South Louisiana.

More information about the Morganza to the Gulf Project can be found on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District website: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/Morganza-to-the-Gulf/

• Date Taken: 06.22.2023
• Date Posted: 06.22.2023 13:00
• Story ID: 447739
• Location: HOUMA, LA, US
• Hometown: HOUMA, LA, US