Assumption Parish staff seeks streamlined permit for Himalaya Canal work to avoid wetland mitigation

Assumption Parish engineers told the Drainage Committee on Jan. 8 that removal of trees and debris from the Himalaya Canal will be scaled and staged so the work may qualify for a general programmatic permit rather than a full Section 404 permit that would require mitigation. Parish staff said they have been coordinating with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and were running final impact calculations to confirm whether the project could be reduced to less than one acre of wetland impact.

The parish’s plan, as described by a staff member identified in the meeting as Joseph, is to use a marsh buggy to remove material from the water side, avoid tree clearing along banks, mulch the removed vegetation and spray the mulch on the banks rather than leaving debris in the channel. “We’re gonna have to chip them,” Joseph said when asked how the removed vegetation would be handled. Joseph said he expected to run impact calculations the day of the meeting and, if impacts measured under one acre, to resubmit under the general programmatic-permit process. He estimated the parish could receive a permit in about 60 days if the Corps deems the application eligible for that faster permitting track.

Committee members pressed on funding and scope. Joseph said the work is part of the larger Lower Texas (Myrick Conchand/Maury Canal) project that already has parish funding; he said the parish adjusted that project’s scope earlier to include Himalaya Canal-related work. He emphasized the parish is not relying on FEMA for canal cleaning and that avoidance of a full 404 permit is intended to avoid mitigation costs that the parish does not have budgeted. When asked about readiness to proceed, Joseph said that once the permit is in hand the plans will be adjusted to comply with permit conditions and the parish will issue plans for construction approval within about 30 days.

The committee discussed operational details and the project budget. Joseph said budgeted funds cover rental of a mulcher and related work and that mulching would be staged from the bank so material is not pushed into wetlands. A committee member asked whether mulch could be thrown into the canal; Joseph replied that doing so would be considered a wetland impact and could trigger mitigation. The engineer also confirmed other elements of the bigger Lower Texas project — including culvert work on Koshy Ann Road and cleaning of outlets to the bayou — are being handled under the same design scope and funding package.

No formal vote was recorded on the Himalaya Canal permitting approach during the drainage meeting; the committee instead received the update and tabled specific construction actions pending the Corps’ permit determination and adjusted plans.