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Committee pauses bulkhead work in small St. Tammany neighborhood pending review
Summary
The committee approved technical amendments and reported SB 145, a local bill that pauses construction of bulkheads on a specific water body in St. Tammany Parish while the legislature examines impacts on wetlands and water flow.
Senate Bill 145, a local measure addressing the construction of bulkheads on certain water bodies in St. Tammany Parish, was read in and amended by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources in April and reported as amended.
Committee staff read amendment 533, which removed a duplicative phrase about distributaries of the Trufonica River because the area is already defined by coordinates. The committee accepted the technical amendment by voice with no objection.
Senator Babbel described the bill as very local: it covers a lot within an older neighborhood where much of the lot is wetlands and where proposed development could impede water flow in an adjacent canal. Senator Lambert asked whether the proposed pause is intended to prevent damming off a water bottom with a bulkhead and whether the area has public access; Babbel confirmed those concerns and that the measure seeks a pause while officials assess the best approach for that river section.
With no objections recorded, the committee reported SB 145 as amended and moved it forward for further consideration. The measure is framed as a local, narrowly tailored pause designed to preserve water flow and public access while officials review potential development in wetland areas.
