St. Charles Parish Coastal Zone Advisory Committee Meeting - January 13, 2026
St. Charles Parish Coastal Zone Advisory Committee Meeting - January 13, 2026
The St. Charles Parish Coastal Zone Advisory Committee met on January 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM in the Council Chambers of the Courthouse. The meeting included a detailed presentation by the CPRA on the Davis Pond freshwater diversion, routine approvals, and introductions of updates to the local coastal program and a coastal use brochure. No public comments were received. The committee unanimously approved previous meeting minutes and a resolution adopting committee rules. Votes on the proposed EMU updates and brochure were deferred to the next meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Previous Meeting’s Minutes: Approved unanimously (motion by Babin, second by Martinez).
- Resolution Adopting Rules for Committee (2025-5-CZAC): Approved unanimously (motion by Martinez, second by Landry). The resolution adopts the rules for regular meetings of the St. Charles Parish Coastal Zone Advisory Committee for 2025.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public provided testimony or comments.
Discussion Items
- Presentation by CPRA – Danielle Richardi and John Troutman: A 30-minute presentation covered the Davis Pond freshwater diversion’s design, operations, and monitoring. Key points:
- Constructed 1997-2002, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River at river mile 118, with four culverts and a maximum discharge of 10,650 CFS.
- Primary goal: reduce saltwater intrusion in the Barataria basin using a gravity-driven diversion. Operations guided by salinity moving averages at Bay Dogri and Grand Terre gauges.
- 2025 annual discharge was the highest since 2013 (2,273 CFS average, a 45% increase over 2024 and 25% above long-term average).
- Monitoring includes hydrologic, vegetation, spatial, and fisheries data. At CRMS 3169 near the outfall, the site transitioned from floating marsh to a forested community, with canopy cover increasing from 27% to 57% and trees from 77 to 82 (2021-2024).
- Oyster stock increased 269% from 2023 to 2024 (July sampling), with sack stock the highest since 2014. Brown shrimp CPUE was the highest since 1986. White shrimp declined but remained above long-term average.
- Committee member Lambert expressed concern about the upper estuary’s decline, loss of bass, waterfowl, and economic impacts, and advocated for a freshwater diversion north of Lake Des Allemands. He also requested additional real-time monitoring stations at the mouths of Lake Salvador, Bay de Zamas, and Bay Cuba.
- Questions were raised about the disparity between the diversion’s design capacity (10,650 CFS) and average operational discharge, and about repairs to the West Guide levee (expected construction start in June 2026).
- Manager’s Briefing – Mr. Leday:
- One Joint Permit Application (JPA) was processed: SCP-2025-08 (McArthur, Ronald) for clearing 5.21 acres of upland habitat on River Road near Almedia without a permit. The decision was no direct or significant impact.
- Update on Christmas tree pens in Bayou Cuba: JPA submitted, awaiting Department of Conservation and Energy review; tree pickup concluded the following day.
- Introduction of EMUs 15, 16, and 17 for Updates and Approval: Mr. Leday and Marnie Stein presented the first three Lake EMUs (for lakes within the parish) as part of a broader update to the Local Coastal Program, which is over 10 years old. The updates aim to refresh data and align with flood insurance program credits. No vote was taken; the EMUs will be considered for approval at the February 2026 meeting. Committee members are to review and bring questions.
- Introduction of Coastal Use Brochure for Changes and Approval: A revised brochure with updated styling was distributed. It serves as an FAQ for residents on why JPA permits are needed and the application process. The final version will incorporate minor typos and be made available in paper and online. No vote was taken; approval to follow at a future meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimously approved: Previous meeting minutes and Resolution 2025-5-CZAC adopting committee rules.
- No votes taken on the EMU updates or coastal use brochure; both items will be brought back for a vote at the February 2026 meeting after committee review.
- Directives: CPRA noted it will organize a mid-year meeting of the Davis Pond Advisory Committee (likely June/July 2026) based on suggestions. Committee member Lambert’s request for additional monitoring stations was noted by CPRA staff, who pointed to existing real-time gauges and offered to share locations.
- Announcements: Upcoming meetings include the CWPPRA Technical Committee (January 15, 2026) and the CWPPRA Regional Planning Meeting (February 4/5, 2026), where the priority project list will be developed with committee involvement.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I call the January 13th, 2026 Coastal Zone Advisory Committee to Order. Please rise for a moment of silent meditation, followed by the pledge. One nation. Let the records show that Rome, Landry, Babbin, Giat, Martinez, and Lambert are in attendance. We'll move on to our agenda. First item on the agenda: approval of previous meetings minutes. Can we get a motion to accept the previous meetings minutes that were attached in your packet? Motion Bob Babin. Second by Martinez. Okay. Any discussion? Okay, please cash your vote. That motion passes unanimously. Okay, next on the agenda, we have a presentation by the CPRA. Ms. Danielle Ricardo and her team. Turn the flow over to you, ma'am. Thank you. And uh thank you to the Coastal Zone Advisory Committee for having myself, uh, Danielle Richardi and John Troutman here today to talk to you about the Davis Pond freshwater diversion. Um focus on operations and monitoring of the diversion and uh hope to be about 30 minutes long. So, Sean, if you could let me know when we're getting close to that. Uh might go a little over. Um and I'm okay too if you all want to answer or ask uh questions during the presentation. That's fine. Just go ahead and ask. Okay. So there's no questions. Yeah. How is that? Can you all that's better? Okay, thank you. Okay. Um so first we'll start with just some facts about the Davis Pond diversion itself. Uh it was constructed by the Corps between 1997 and 2002, and that's also when it began operations. It's located on the west bank of Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, right here. It's about uh at river mile 118 above Heda Passes. The structure itself is composed of four culverts. Um they're gated and they're about 14 feet by 14 feet. The maximum discharge that can come through the diversion into the Barataria basin is 10,650 CFS. Um, and the diversion's gravity-driven, meaning it functions best when we have a high river stage in relation to the water level in the basin. So during the winter months, um during the spring when the river rises, that's when we can really pulse and operate the diversion uh most effectively. So the outflow channel that you see in that photo, that flows into a ponding area. It's about 9400 acres. And the intent of that ponding area is to slow the water down a bit as it begins to enter the Barataria basin to allow for nutrient uptake to allow for sediment deposition to allow even for uh temperature um moderation uh within the ponding area. And I have a picture of that on um the next slide. Operations maintenance and monitoring is cost shared between the core and CPRA. Uh core pays the majority at 75%, and CPRA pays 25%. CPRA is responsible for managing diversion operations.
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