By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The St. John Parish Council recently approved the purchase of $15 million in public improvement bonds to expand capacity and replace pipes in the sewer system on the east bank of the parish.

St. John Acting Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe said the bonds, which will help expand capacity at the River Road wastewater treatment plant in LaPlace and correct a growing infiltration and inflow problem with sewer pipes parishwide, are revenue bonds levied against the parish’s 1-percent sales tax, which is typically used for roads, bridges and sewers.

Unlike general obligation bonds, like the ones voted on in April, Boe said procurement of revenue bonds does not require a vote of the people. The council voted 8-0 in favor of applying for the 20-year bond, with Councilman-at-Large Richard “Dale” Wolfe absent from the meeting. The parish now awaits the endorsement of the State Bond Commission.

The parish intends to use $10 million to expand capacity at the River Road wastewater treatment plant in LaPlace, which services the entire east bank of St. John Parish. Boe said the project will expand the plant’s capacity from 4 million gallons per day to 6.5 million gallons per day.

“In a rain event, sewer process is limited because the treatment plant can’t handle the additional strain,” Boe said. The expansion will allow us to account for future growth while maintaining complete services.”

The remaining $5 million will be devoted to infiltration and inflow problems affecting older terra cotta sewer pipes that were put in place when the sewer system was originally installed on the east bank of the parish more than 40 years ago.

Boe said cracks in the pipes, which lie in Reserve and older parts of LaPlace, have never undergone maintenance and are now experiencing serious cracks that allow excess rainwater to infiltrate.

In addition to the bond money, Boe said the parish also has applications at the state level for $500,000 in community block development grants and $600,000 in Louisiana Recovery authority money.

The parish is also looking into taking out an additional $1.4 million loan for completion of the project.