By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The St. John Parish Council recently authorized parish officials to begin a search for engineers to oversee a pair of coastal restoration projects.

The two projects, which involve shoreline protection along the Reserve relief canal and the western side of Lac des Allemands will be funded through the state’s Coastal Impact Assistance Program. St. John Parish is one of 19 Louisiana parishes eligible for the program, which uses federal funds for coastal improvements.

St. John Acting Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe said the parish received nearly $6 million in CIAP grants for the projects last year and had selected Davezac Consulting Engineers of Destrehan to manage both projects. Those contracts were terminated a little over a month ago on the recommendation of St. John District Attorney Tom Daley because of the firm’s ties to former Parish President Bill Hubbard.

According to federal court documents, the firm had given Hubbard money to help him buy a car just before being awarded a separate parish contract. Hubbard has since pleaded guilty to bribery charges in connection with the exchange.

The council unanimously approved the parish’s new search for engineers at a finance committee meeting late last month. Boe said a request for qualifications to provide engineering services is the required method of selection for CIAP funded projects. He said the selected firm would oversee design, construction and completion of both projects.

According to parish documents submitted to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office, the Reserve relief canal project calls for the restoration of about 1,400 feet of shoreline near where the canal empties into Lake Maurepas. The project includes a rock dike with gaps for fish and public access to the lake.

“The shoreline erosion in that area has resulted in the loss of about 15 acres of land over the past decade,” Boe said.

The Lac des Allemands project consists of a reinforcement of about 7,500 feet of shoreline on the western part of the lake from the Pleasure Bend area to Pointe Aux Herbes. Contractors will add a rock dike and plant new growth to slow erosion, which is occurring at a rate of about 2.9 acres per year.

Boe said when the parish originally applied for CIAP funds, the request included a third restoration project for the Manchac area shoreline. He said that project has since been picked up by the Army Corps of Engineers, who will engineer and fund the project themselves.

Boe said bidding for construction on the projects could begin as early as next fall, with actual construction starting by early 2011.