By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Tuesday’s town hall meeting at the St. John Civic Center, hosted by Congessman Cedric Richmond and the Corps of Engineers, drew a huge crowd who seemed mostly unimpressed by what officials had to say.
The corps started things off with a presentation that was mostly a rehash of the one it gave in the same space shortly after Hurricane Isaac. But the passing of time has seemed to thin the patience of some of those who flooded during Isaac or some of the heavy rain events since. The corps’ claim that flood protection installed in the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina has not exacerbated flooding in outlying areas such as St. John the Baptist Parish drew murmurs of disapproval from the crowd, which filled available seating and then some.
Still the corps outlined the unique elements that came together to produce the devastating effects of Isaac. Representatives said the combination of the storm’s extremely slow movement and high rainfall was to blame for the terrible impact Isaac had on the area.
After that, Army Corps Project Manager Jeffrey Varisco got to the heart of what brought everyone out in the first place, future flood protection. He said the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain flood control system was first envisioned decades ago, but languished without proper funding until a disagreement in 2003 put the project on hold altogether. Then, two years later, Hurricane Katrina hit, and its impact was both a blessing and a curse.
The storm shifted the focus of flood protection effort to the east, he said before adding, “I believe it’s put new light on the project.”
And with the impact of Isaac, the project has once again risen to the top of the priority list for many officials.
The corps presented to the audience three possible alignments for a future levee system.
Alignment A would essentially trace the northern limit of development in St. John Parish and would terminate at the Hope Canal. This alignment would have minimal environmental impact.
The second option, Alignment C, would follow a similar but straighter and more northerly route.
Alignment D, would follow Interstate 10 from the shores of Lake Pontchartrain into Ascension Parish.
Varisco said an alignment will be chosen in June, and a feasibility study, which will cost about $650,000, will be completed sometime in 2014.
“We’re looking at late 2015 or 2016 to start turning dirt,” he said.
That last remark further frustrated an audience that felt it has waited long enough for flood protection.
Richmond said one of the reasons funding for the project has been so hard to come by is because the formula the federal government uses weighs the cost of potential damages against the cost of constructing the flood protection.
“We’re missing the big picture about investing in infrastructure in this country,” he said.
The final section of the meeting was devoted to presubmitted questions from the audience, most of which were in one way or another devoted to a flood protection timeline.
Still, some of the audience would not let the structure of the meeting stymie their concerns.
In response to the corps’ suggestion that a gate across the Rigolets would have little impact on the area, Wayne Naquin said, “Half the camps in Manchac were washed away because of the water coming up the pass from the gulf. What kind of study y’all got on that?”
Naquin said he was frustrated by the format of the meeting.
“How can you ask questions if you don’t know what they’re saying?” he wondered.
Local officials also felt the heat. When St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom took the microphone to address some local flooding issues, Foxwood resident Louis Chedville could not contain his frustration at the slow pace of fixing the flooding problem in the subdivision.
“I pay taxes,” he said, brandishing a phone filled with photos of Foxwood flooding. “That’s the same thing you said three years ago. You will not get my vote.”
For her part, Robottom acknowledged the drainage projects were progressing as quickly as she would like, but she also discussed some of the measures the parish is taking to prepare itself for another major disaster, including ensuring water service does not go out again.
Visit carpenter-media.go-vip.net.lobservateur.com to see the three possible alignments for local flood protection.