On motion of Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Templet, the following resolution was
offered:
RESOLUTION NO. 120197
A resolution urging the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, New
Orleans District, to follow the recommendations of the
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of
Coastal Management, regarding implementation of fair and
reasonable regulations on wetland habitat assessment and
compensation for wetland impacts.
WHEREAS, pursuant to federal law the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
enforces regulations regarding Louisiana's wetlands and, when development is
proposed in a wetlands area, the developer (local or state government, or business) is
required to pay a mitigation fee that is intended to preserve other wetland areas; and
WHEREAS, much of coastal Louisiana is under the purview of the New Orleans
District of the USACE and subject to that District's application of regulations regarding
the assessment of wetland habitat and the designation of applicable compensatory
credits for impacts to said wetlands; and
WHEREAS, the Jefferson Parish Council recognizes and honors the criticality of
wetlands to public safety, the economy, and local, state and federal interests and
supports reasonable, practicable, and appropriate compensatory mitigation; and
WHEREAS, the USACE, New Orleans District, has promulgated habitat
assessment methodologies and mitigation rules also known as the Modified Charleston
Method (MCM) pertaining to the assessment of wetland habitat and the computation of
compensatory credits for wetland impacts from public safety and economic
development projects; and
WHEREAS, the MCM significantly changes mitigation requirements for
unavoidable wetland impacts and causes unnecessarily high and impractical
compensatory mitigation values, thereby greatly increasing the cost and possibly
hindering the building of public works and other projects that protect the public and
facilitate the growth of our local and regional economies; and
WHEREAS, the cost of mitigation fees pursuant to the Modified Charleston
Method as implemented and assessed by the USACE will likely have a direct negative
impact on critical public safety, infrastructure, and/or capital Parish projects, including
coastal protection/restoration projects; and
WHEREAS, the MCM has been criticized by numerous public officials, including
many of Louisiana's congressional delegation, various government and regulatory
bodies including the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana, and the Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management (OCM), as an
unreasonable and unwarranted change to the USACE'S mitigation policies; and
WHEREAS, in extensive public comments in response to the proposed MCM
methodologies and rules, OCM criticized the MCM for lacking a scientific basis
grounded in actual scientific data and for failing to certify that MCM is a model capable
of adequately assessing habitat impacts on the USACE'S own civil works projects; and
WHEREAS, OCM has further stated the MCM must be revised, as current MCM
language imposes excessive mitigation requirements and exponential penalties on
public works and infrastructure projects while failing to provide appropriate credit for
marsh-creation projects or to insure the availability of sufficient mitigation banking
opportunities; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Jefferson Parish Council of
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, acting as governing authority of said Parish:
SECTION 1. That this Council hereby resolves that its members fully support the
comments of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal
Management, calling for the New Orleans District of the USACE to:
 implement changes to the MCM to address the punitive nature of the
calculations used in the MCM to quantify compensatory mitigation credits;


provide for fair and adequate credit for marsh creation projects;
cease the use of the cumulative impact factor on the adverse impacts
table of the MCM; and
 ensure that all compensatory mitigation efforts are fully consistent with the
goals and objectives of Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a
Sustainable Coast;
 otherwise revise the MCM to ensure the fair valuation of habitat creation
and wetland impact without unreasonably burdening the regulated public.
SECTION 2. That this Council further urges the USACE, New Orleans
District, to heed the criticisms of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
and the numerous government officials, regulatory bodies and private concerns
with respect to the MCM, its stymieing impact on public works and economic
development projects, and its failure to follow the mandates of the Clean Water
Act, Section 404, which require that compensatory mitigation be practicable and,
thereof, to take all actions necessary to revise the MCM to provide adequate and
defensible compensation calculations for required mitigation for unavoidable
impacts to wetlands.
SECTION 3.That the USACE, New Orleans District, analyze and consider
multiple mitigation options including state, local or non-profit sponsored in-lieu
fee programs, preservation credits, buffer credits, and the reduction of financial
burdens placed on mitigation banks.
SECTION 4. That United States Senators David Vitter and Mary Landrieu,
along with Congressman Steve Scalise, are hereby requested to assist Jefferson
Parish in its efforts to effect changes to the USACE’s MCM.
SECTION 5. That the Parish Clerk is hereby requested and authorized to
send a certified copy of this resolution to Colonel Edward Fleming, New Orleans
District, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, P. O. Box 60267, New
Orleans, LA 70160-0267, to the members of the United States Congressional
Delegation representing Jefferson Parish, to the Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources, and to the federal legislative lobbyist for Jefferson Parish.
The resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as
follows:
YEAS: 7
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
The resolution was declared to be adopted on this the 16th day of January,
2013.