DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / November 22, 2000

CONVENT – Belmont Fleet is looking to open a barge parking and cleaningoperation in Convent.

The concern noted at the last St. James Parish Council meeting is that thefacility would be placed just up stream of the intake valves of the parishwater treatment plant.

A similar company was pushed out of Lutcher by its residents for the samereason, that it would be between the Lutcher and Gramercy water intakevalve, said Troas Poche, Lutcher mayor.

The facility would be the first for Belmont Fleet. The company already ownsthe mooring permits, which came with the land bought from Marathon Oil. Thefacility so far is simply a parking lot for barges, said Bruce Songy, vice-president of Belmont Fleet. The barges need to be secured while they are waiting for loading or unloadingat the different plants along the river. Receiving a draft water permit fromthe Department of Environmental Quality and from the Coast Guard wouldallow a cleaning facility to be built as well. The barges then would be washedbetween loading an unloading. The barges are mostly hopper barges, carryingmainly grains, aggregate or other dry materials. Barges with chemicals ordangerous cargo would not be cleaned, though they might stay there, saidSongy.

“We’re not asking for what’s uncommon,” said Songy, assuring, “This facilitywill in no way be detrimental.”A public hearing, arranged by DEQ for residents of Convent as well as St.

James Parish, will be held Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. on the second floor of theConvent courthouse.

Those that wish to view information concerning the project prior to themeeting may do so at the St. James Parish Library in Lutcher.

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