River dredging in Cameron

[Ray]

The West Cameron Port,
Harbor & Terminal District
has applied for a Coastal Use
permit to dredge the
Calcasieu Loop Pass and
East Fork of the Calcasieu
River. The town of Cameron
is located along the north
side of the loop and Monkey
Island is inside the loop.
This is proposed maintenance
dredging of the
Calcasieu River Loop Pass
and the East Fork of the
Calcasieu River near the city
of Cameron. Approx.
2,012,012 cu. yds. of waterbottom
material will be
hydraulically dredged from
the Calcasieu River Loop
Pass and pumped to a spoil
disposal area in the Gulf of
Mexico west of the mouth of
the Calcasieu River.
Approx. 180,000 cu. yds. of
waterbottom material will be
hydraulically dredged from
the East Fork and pumped to
an existing deep area in the
East Fork. Areas to be
dredged are located approx. 1
mile and 4 miles north of the
mouth of the Calcasieu River.
The large spoil disposal area
is located to the immediate
west of the mouth.
Approx. 2,012,012 cu. yds.
of waterbottom material will
be hydraulically dredged
from the Calcasieu River
Loop Pass and used beneficially
by being pumped to a
subsided marsh area approx.
4 miles to the west. As previously
permitted, approx.
180,000 cu. yds. of waterbottom
material will be
hydraulically dredged from
the East Fork and pumped to
and deposited in an existing
deep area in the East Fork.

http://www.dequincynews.com/pilot/cam_1_28/page_1.pdf

Map at bottom right on link above.

[Ray]

They need to get off my holes...

[eman]

Instead of pumping silt back into the water and filling in deep areas or out in the gulf .why can't they pump it onshore to build up land ?

[jchief]

They do in some cases. The issue of getting right of ways is huge in Cameron parish

[jchief]

one other thing. All the rocks going up on the channel on the Calcasieu will be backfilled with dredge when they start in that area.

[Ray]

If you look at the map on the link, they will be filling in some eroded areas North of the Holly Beach highway and some will be pumped just off the beach on the West side of the Jetties.

[jchief]

wonder how the guy's hunting north of 82 feel about this!!!!!!!!

[Ray]

Most of that land belonged to Amoco and was sold to private individuals in the late 90's and early 2000.
They do not have to let them pump dredge spoil on their property if they don't want to.
There is a plan for a major dredge spoil pumping to the marshs North of Hackberry also.
It is to improve the marshs to the way they were before all the erosion took place.

[jchief]

Yeah. I own some of the property that the right of ways went through in Hackberry when they pumped some of the spoil into Sabine.

As long as they don't try to fill in Long Point again as they tried to do a few years ago.

[Ray]

The mud pimp for the port said that they are not going to do that again. They have to come up with a better plan than they had for the past 50 years. He gave a presentation for a boating organization that I belong to, it showed how they pumped spoil onto land without levees and it just went back into the channel.
The are going to start asking to pump it into eroded marshes to restore them. I think it is a good idea. It just costs a lot more to get it to far away marshes. They have to use more pumps and pipe than normal to get it as far as needed.

[Gottogo49]

I seem to remember that the Sabine Refuge got big recognition for the marsh restoration work that was done there. The net result to me was that they dammed up and filled in one of my best fishing holes on Hog Island Gully. The little sandpipers love it. That's progress.