Northshore Conifer posted on April 30, 2010 19:04
In a proactive effort to minimize the amount of oil potentially entering Lake Pontchartrain from the Deepwater Horizon incident, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis has awarded a contract to mobilize 7,500 feet of oil containing boom. This boom will be mobilized tomorrow, May 1. St. Tammany followed the necessary protocol and put out an RFP to several companies for quotes on providing the necessary services. The boom material will be mobilized in the Rigolets and the Chef Menteur Pass areas, the two largest locations where oil could be pushed into the lake.
The operation will take place in two phases. The mobilization phase will consist of the boom material being placed on the embankments on either side of these waterways in preparation for use. If oil does begin to enter the Rigolets or the Chef Pass, phase two will take place. The deployment phase will occur when the contractors actually put the boom material in the water across both waterways. In both areas, the booms will be deployed at bridges, which will provide a rigid structure as an anchor for the boom material.
“I can’t sit and wait to see if we are going to be affected by this spill,” said President Davis. “We need to have this boom material in place so if it becomes necessary, all the parishes around Lake Pontchartrain are not put in a compromised position.”
In a conference call, President Davis spoke with representatives of all the Parishes in the Lake Pontchartrain basin area and the Causeway Commission, including Tangipahoa, St. Charles, Livingston, Orleans, St. James, Ascension, St, John the Baptist, and Jefferson. He received the unified support of the parish leaders.
All the elected officials in St. Tammany, the sheriff, police and fire departments were informed of the parish’s actions in a conference call as well. Representatives from the Parish Council were with President Davis throughout this process to lend the support of the Council.