“There are two (drainage) projects that are transformational,” Parish President/EA Drainage Director Clint Cointment addressed East Ascension Drainage Commission earlier this week. “New River Stormwater Management Pump Station (depicted in the artist’s rendering above) and Sorrento Storm Surge Protection.” The latter is an extension of the West Shore (Lake Pontchartrain Risk Reduction) Project, from which […]

Parish President Clint Cointment has argued for a New River Pump Station, depositing potential flood waters into the Mississippi River, for most of his five-year tenure (and long before anyone else thought it was doable).  Initially going it alone (we do not recall any other elected/appointed official joining the Cointment crusade until recently), Ascension’s chief […]

On May 8, 2017 a unanimous East Ascension Drainage Commission authorized “an RFQ to go out for engineer services associated with a Flood Plain Management Program.” It was, in large part, a reaction to the disastrous flooding in August 2016 as Ascension’s elected/appointed officialdom had been unable to offer anything like a solution to drainage […]

Parish President Clint Cointment Thursday signed the transfer of assets of the sewer treatment system, marking a significant milestone in resolving the longstanding sewer infrastructure issue in Ascension Parish. National Water Infrastructure (NWI) has acquired the Parish’s sewer system for $9.2 million, solidifying a partnership that began as a franchise agreement in 2021 under a […]

All of the interested parties seem in agreement, Bayou Manchac Regional Flood Risk Reduction is a project worth getting done, and the sooner the better.  Two multi-parish agencies have made it a priority, evidenced by the spirited conversation at Amite River Basin Commission’s (ARBC) April 9 meeting at Livingston Parish’s council chamber.  Monica Gorman, Executive Director […]

Brittany Point, LLC owns 55 acres abutting Gonzales’ easternmost city limits, on the north side of Hwy 30 just west of Smith Tank & Steel where the current zoning is Rural, one of Ascension Parish’s most restrictive.  In all likelihood, whether the subject acreage is annexed into the City of Gonzales or not, that is going […]

A standing room only crowd, others tiptoeing to get a view inside the Council Meeting Room at Gonzales City Hall on Monday, anticipating the consideration of Brittany Point, LLC’s annexation hearing.  55.14 acres adjoining Gonzales’ eastern city limits, Doug Diez’s property abuts one of the city’s drainage hotspots where fears of flooding accompany every torrential […]

On Tuesday, East Ascension Drainage Commission, comprised of the entire 11-member Ascension Parish Council seated Ex Officio, declined to approve a $726,000 change order for the substantially complete New River Channel Improvement project.  The original contract was not awarded to Boone Services, LLC, but the low bidder (Bridging the Gap, LLC) would not or could not […]

Rarely have Ascension’s three municipalities united against a common threat, real or perceived.  Thursday was one of those occasions when two east bank mayors crossed the Sunshine Bridge to join Donaldsonville’s Leroy Sullivan.  They oppose an ordinance proposed by Parish President Clint Cointment seeking a larger share of sales tax generated on properties annexed by […]