Council approves King/Horn Street drainage engineering amendment after resident objections; project team says work will be a ditch within donated right-of-way

The St. Charles Parish Council voted Aug. 18 to authorize amendment No. 2 to the professional services agreement with Crescent Engineering and Mapping LLC for the King and Horn Street drainage improvements (file 2025-0232), adding a cultural-resources survey the Corps and SHPO requested.

Mister Miles Bingham, the parish presenter, said the amendment is to pay for a cultural resources research survey required during environmental review so the project can receive environmental clearance and move to construction. "In this case, the State Historic Preservation Office, SHPO, asked that we do a cultural survey research survey on this. And, this is us complying with that request so that we can get our environmental clearance and move this project into construction," he said.

Resident Diana Burrell, who gave her address as 317 King Street, told the council she objected to a canal placement near her home and raised property-rights, safety and health concerns, including the risk of standing water attracting mosquitoes and causing erosion. "The proposal to dig a canal near or adjacent to our property has not been authorized by us," Burrell said. "The construction process will likely lead to excessive noise, blocked access to roads, and significant inconvenience to the residents. Furthermore, there is a genuine risk of property damage, soil erosion, which could undermine the stability of our property." She asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hold a public hearing.

Council members and parish staff responded with project context. Bingham and Parish President Matthew Jewell said the design is intended to create conveyance to reduce chronic flooding in the King/Hawn area. Jewell noted that the parish has spent years acquiring necessary property for the right-of-way and that the project was identified after the major flooding events in 2020. Parish staff described the planned feature as a conveyance ditch, not a permanent water-filled canal: it will generally carry stormwater by gravity and be dry much of the time, they said. Bingham added that a private property owner had offered a 100-foot right-of-way that would allow the ditch to be located away from individual property lines.

Engineers and staff also disclosed federal environmental requirements. Bingham said the Corps of Engineers is requiring approximately 5.2 acres of bottomland-hardwood mitigation for the project, and that wetland delineation, archeological studies and other environmental reviews are standard parts of the permitting process.

After council discussion that included questions from Councilwoman Wilson, Councilman Fisher and Councilman Pilar, the ordinance authorizing the amendment (file 2025-0232) passed unanimously.

Ending: Parish officials said the amendment is a necessary compliance step to obtain environmental clearance; staff asked the council to keep the project moving to prevent future flooding in the neighborhood.