By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish officials have enlisted the help of a pair of engineering firms in securing permits to clear and excavate major drainage canals that run through protected wetlands.

The St. John Council on Tuesday approved contracts with Royal Engineering of New Orleans and Krebs, LaSalle & Lamieux Inc. to help the parish secure permits with the Army Corps of Engineers for 23 canals on both the east bank and west bank of the parish. St. John Parish spokesperson Paige Braud said the firms will make the permitting process for the work go faster and allow for work to get done quicker.

“In the past we had one person dealing with all the permits for all the canals,” Braud said. “This gives us more flexibility in securing the permits.”

According to the contracts, the parish will pay Royal Engineering $48,000 to secure permits for 11 canals, while Krebs, LaSalle & Lamieux will be paid $50,000 to secure permits for 12 other canals. The process will be monitored on a monthly basis until all permits are received.

In total, there are 37 major drainage canals of various lengths throughout the parish, and permits have already been secured for the 14 not covered by the engineering firms. St. John Capital Projects Administrator Mike Carmouche said the parish has the permits for five years, with a renewable option.

“This allows us to only be responsible for a processing fee to renew the permit instead of going through the application process over again,” Carmouche said. “Now we can go back into the canals annually prior to hurricane season to ensure that they stay free of debris.”

Carmouche said the parish began securing permits and clearing the canals in January of last year, starting with the Vicknair and Ridgefield canals in LaPlace.

He said most of the canals, which have been clogged with fallen trees, broken branches and a host of other foreign debris, haven’t been touched in more than 15 years.

“It has been a major contributor to the flooding that we regularly have to deal with,” Carmouche said. “The water has no way out, and it backs up into neighborhoods and residences. Once we really start getting into these canals, it won’t be a problem.”

Of the 14 canals the parish has permits for, Carmouche said seven have been completely cleared of debris and another four are currently being worked on. He said the parish has use of a floating excavator that is lifting debris out of the canals so it can be taken to landfills.

“The progress has had a dramatic affect on water flow,” Carmouche said. “Water levels are down several inches in some of these canals.”

Carmouche said the canal with the most issues and heaviest debris has been the Hope Canal, which serves Reserve and Garyville. He said work crews have cleared about 95 percent of the debris from the Hope Canal.

“It was by far the worst,” Carmouche said. “We pulled out entire trees, branches, sofas, mattresses, all sorts of things. Now it’s nearly completely clear.”

FEMA will reimburse for nearly all expenses tied to the canal project as part of the aid package from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which affected the parish in 2008.