-
7/29/2019 Trees Will Not Lead to Decertification
1/3
Trees could face axe if Corps of Engineers enforces strict
vegetation rules Page 10f3
Trees could face axe if Corps of Engineers enforces
strictvegetation rulesBy Sheila Grissett, The Times -PicayuneApril
26, 2010, 7:20AM
Ted J ackson / The Times-PicayuneBJ . Morgan and his dog Hank
walk the levee as they enjoy the dog play area and thetrees along
the levee near the Riverbend section and the Mississippi River in
NewOrleans earlier this month. The mature line of trees runs afoul
of an Army Corps ofEngineers vegetation policy, previously ignored
but now being aggressively enforced,that prohibits trees within 15
feet of levees and floodwalls.
Some 500 trees along the Mississippi River in EastJefferson and
NewOrleans -- and eventhe English ivythat has covered a
FrenchQuarter floodwall for decades -- are the next targets of a
controversial ArmyCorps of Engineers vegetation policy that likely
will require their removal.Mostof the trees are located behind
homes that backup to the river in River Ridge, Harahanand
Kenner,but a highly visible line of mature trees also flanks the
western edge of the unofficial dog park along LeakeAvenue, a
clover-and-grass-covered levee slope long usedby residents of
Uptown NewOrleans and thecanineswho walk them.
All of the trees, as well as vines blanketing the floodwall that
separates the MoonWalk and parking lot eastof Jax Brewery from
Cafedu Mondeand other iconic FrenchQuarter establishments north of
the wall, arenow listed onannual corps levee inspection reports as
"encroachments" in needof removal.Local leveedistricts have
beenadvised not to start cutting yet, however, as decision-makers
at corpsheadquarters continue grappling with the fallout from their
post-Hurricane Katrina decision to startaggressive enforcement of a
previously ignored policy that prohibited trees within 15 feet of
levees andfloodwalls.
http://blog.nola.comlhurricane _impactlprint.html?entry=/20
10/04/trees_could_face_axe_if... 4/26/2010
-
7/29/2019 Trees Will Not Lead to Decertification
2/3
Trees could face axe if Corps of Engineers enforces strict
vegetation rules Page 2 of3
Not only has the policy raised the ire of naturalists, it
hasalso spawnedcomplex real estate andenvironmental issues that
must beaddressed.Whenaskedfor advice on howto proceed, a corps
operations supervisor in NewOrleans recently told agroup of
regional leveecommissioners and district executives that hewouldn't
advise cutting riverside treesuntil there is further word from
headquarters."I can't speak on behalf of the whole corps ... but I
wouldn't move just yet," Jerry Colletti, assistant_-operabons chief
for the diStrict, told the group. "Wemay know somemore after a
meeting we're having in afew weeks ... or by the end of the
year."Trees are going to bean issuefor a long time, and we've asked
(headquarters) for a better waiver system_and the ability to use
some engineering judgment when it comes to deciding what needs
removing in ourdistricts," hesaid."I'd say don't do anything yet
until we hear something elsefrom them."
(
'Minimally acceptable'Colletti and corps geotechnical engineer
RichVaruso said agency inspectors have nochoicebut to note
theexistence of trees and other growth that seems to violate the
vegetation policy. Butthey said inspectorsaren't lowering the
overall ratings the leveesystems are given. te: -t n~ .'+.1'
.,A..1. i ,ND l/e-Ct:?Y' 'f,/, , v ' J ""The trees are noted and
rated 'minimally acceptable,' and while I know the word 'minimal'
is a red flag thatraises concern, all it really means is that it's
something for us to monitor," he said. ''It doesn't mean that
theIlevee isn't capableof functioning asdesigned."If a tree or any
other obstruction is discovered ina leveesection proper, the tree
is ordered removed.
Corps commanders saythe primary goal of vegetation regulations
is to provide accessand unobstructedviews of levees and floodwalls
inorder to inspect them properly, detect developing trouble,
perform requiredmaintenance, make neededimprovements and carry out
emergency flood-fighting.
A dog runs to catch up to his master asthey enjoy the dog play
area and the treesalong the Mississippi River levee near
theRiverbend in New Orleans earlier thismonth.
Secondarily, they say, maintaining a grass-only
systemminimizesthe presenceof trees that, if blown over during a
hurricane, coulddislodge roots or rootballs, possibly destabilizing
a levee orfloodwall with tragic consequences.A post-Katrina policyA
position paper issuedbycorps headquarters in April 2007 laidout its
case publicly for strengthening vegetative regulations andmandating
across-the-board enforcement with little hope of gettingawaiver to
sidestep them.Ironically, some corps districts and leveedistricts
have not onlyallowed trees, fences, swimming pools and even the
occasionalstructure to go up inthese "vegetation free zones, " the
agenciesevenhelpedplant trees as part of community
beautificationprograms. And not until after Katrina did corps levee
inspectors evenstart to identify large trees on leveesas an issue
for correction, the corps' 2007 position paper noted.
http://blog.nola.comlhurricane _impact/print.html?entry=/20
10/04/trees_could_face_axe_if... 4/26/2010
-
7/29/2019 Trees Will Not Lead to Decertification
3/3
Trees could face axe if Corps of Engineers enforces strict
vegetation rules Page 3 of3
But the document alsomade clear that in the future, the cost of
noncompliance would be steep: Federal aidwill bewithheld in
response to any future floods, and offending leveesystems risk
decertification and theloss of participation in the federal flood
insurance program."Cor s officials said there's no chance that such
punitive action would be taken against local levee districts fornot
cutting trees at t is point.There is still no certainty as to what
role, if any, large trees blown over by Katrina might have played
infloodwall breaches that led to the catastrophic flooding of
NewOrleans and parts of EastJefferson.Lessonslearned since then
have revealed floodwall design deficiencies, including shallow
foundations, thatcould well account for all the failures. But large
trees growing in levee slopes near the major breaches wereuprooted
in the storm.Tests explore trees' dangerIn an effort to help
resolve some of the dueling scientific theories regarding the
marriage of trees andlevees, the corps last year tasked the Army's
own Engineer Researchand Development Center to launch newresearch
into the effects of woody vegetation on levee performance. The
project, which includes computermodeling and hands-on test sites in
NewOrleans and nine other cities in eight states, is scheduled to
finishup this year. ..In addition, the Army facility staff is also
collaborating in research being led by a California
consortiumhoping to find a way to ensure levee safety while saving
the last remnants of the riparian forest that oncelined rivers
inthe Central Valley."This is a work in progress, and we're trying
to be consistent, " Varuso said. "But on levees that have
beenaround for awhile, there are complicating issues. It takes
time."The push to eliminate everything but grass on or around
federal levees and floodwalls was fueled by Katrina,and well before
the position paperwas ever published, the crackdown ontrees was in
full swing alonghurricane protection levees on Lake Pontchartrain
and floodwalls in NewOrleans, Metairie and Kenner.
By the time itwas over, some 5,000 trees had been cut, many of
them along the breached London and 17thAvenue canals, and lawsuits
filed as a result of the removals are still working their way
through the courts.Varuso and Colletti said it was necessary to cut
trees off the levees, berms and adjoining 1S-foot zonesbecause of
the Katrina experience.Sheila Grissett can be reached at
[email protected] or 504.467.1746.
D f
2010 NOLA.com.All rights reserved.
A(2t be Na'f'Ci A-L t Y cA t e ' ( (U
http://blog.nola.comlhurricane_impactJprint.htmI?entry=/20
10104/trees _could_face_axe_if... 4126/2010
