Lafourche residents and council spar over permit, sludge and a utility easement as water experts testify

Chair opened the Nov. 26 Lafourche Parish Council meeting and dozens of residents used the public-comment period to press officials over plans by the Consolidated Water District No. 1 of Terrebonne Parish to desludge retention ponds and move treated water or solids in the Bayou Lafourche watershed. Philip Gold, a Lockport resident, asked whether decades of sediments might be moved and said, “Sooner or later, Bayou Lafourche is gonna have to be dug out because of this all of the sludge coming from Mississippi as well as the water plants.”

Why it matters: Council members and residents said the question cuts to public-health and property risks, and to whether the parish government was given adequate legal advice and notice before an administrative letter of no objection was issued to Terrebonne. The council debated whether the parish should ask Parish President Archie Chasson to rescind that letter. The dispute culminated in a vote on a resolution to request rescission; the motion failed in open session.

What officials said: Wayne Goch, general manager of Water District…