PANEL DISCUSSION 



CONSEQUENCES: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC 



Edward W. Stagg, Moderator 



Paul Hribernick, Michael Osborne, Donald W. Davis and 

 Charles Broussard, Panelists 



Charles Broussard: I can best illustrate how regulations can interfere with environmental 

 use or nnanagement by relating a case study. One of the earliest attempts to acquire 

 a permit for deterring saltwater intrusion was in Vermilion Parish. Hurricane Edith 

 in 1971 caused six openings allowing tidal transport of brackish water into the 

 Mermentau Basin. The maintenance of the Mermentau Basin as a freshwater area 

 for rice farming, fish and wildlife habitat, and navigation was mandated by Federal 

 law. The act, however, did not allow the Corps of Engineers to expend Federal funds 

 except for control structures. The State Office of Public Works, therefore, funded a 

 project to close these breaches and bids were advertised in October 1972. Section 

 404 of the Clean Water Act became effective in 1972 and I thought it would be a 

 great assistance in protecting our coastal environment. It has had the opposite 

 effect in this case, however. Letters of concurrence were sought and obtained from 

 a large number of State and Federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, for this project. The National Marine Fisheries Service, however, objected 

 to the closure of the breaches saying this is a saltwater estuarine area. To this day, 

 there has still been no permit issued and there are now 167 attachments to the 

 original application. 



The intent of the laws related to coastal zone management is not being 

 realized. Rice farming has been driven out of the area. Waterfowl populations 

 declined because of a reduction in millet, or wild rice, from 80,000 acres to a few 

 thousand acres. Duck populations declined from more than a million to less than 

 200,000. Hardness of ground water in the region has increased due to saltwater 

 intrusion from negligible amounts of 12 grains/gallon in deep wells in 1930 to 70 to 90 

 grains/gallon, which is not fit for rice farming or human consumption. 



Donald Landry: The Houma Navigation Canal was built with Terrebonne Parish funds but 

 is maintained by the Corps of Engineers. It has now widened beyond the 700 ft 

 right-of-way. What is the legal responsibility of the assuring local agency to the 

 property owners? 



Paul Hribernick: Similar problems exist with the Houma Navigation Canal and the 

 Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. The law is unclear with regard to bodies of water 

 made navigable. If the bottom is found to be in State ownership, normal erosion 

 rules would apply, and land owners may be able to reclaim land damages for which 

 they haven't received compensation from the government. The law does not say who 

 pays for restoration, however. The land owner may be able to sue in a tort for 

 compensation in which case the liability of the government would be limited to fair 

 market value of the lost property. 



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