St. Bernard Parish, La., January 20, 2023 — The Lake Borgne Marsh Creation Project (LBMC) in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, is in full swing, and on Friday, January 20, dredging contractor and DCA member Mike Hooks, LLC was invited to tour a portion of the project with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Chairman Chip Kline and Executive Director Bren Haase, St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis and council members, State Senator Sharon Hewitt, State Representative Ray Garofalo, and key staff from the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities. Following the tour, invited guests, stakeholders, and the press gathered in Shell Beach along the banks of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet “MRGO” and next to the Hurricane Katrina Memorial to hear state and local officials speak on the importance of LBMC and the robust restoration program that is currently unfolding in St. Bernard Parish, as part of the state’s 50-year, $50 billion Master Plan.
LBMC is the largest marsh creation project in the history of the State of Louisiana and is funded by the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Program. Just one of the dredged material placement cells is larger than any single restoration project CPRA has previously completed, and there are seven cells. The project will reestablish the bay rim and create, nourish, and restore over 2,700 acres of degraded intertidal marsh habitat, creating natural storm surge protection from hurricanes and reversing land loss. 13 million cubic yards of dredged material, the equivalent of three Superdomes, are being pumped from a Mike Hooks cutter suction dredge two miles away on Lake Borgne and strategically placed inside a 30-mile ring of containment dike, built to a height that accounts for sea level rise. The project is expected to have a lifespan of 20+ years. Completion is expected in the summer of 2025. As a fourth generation family-owned business and as the oldest operating dredging company in the state of Louisiana, Mike Hooks couldn’t be more proud to be the prime contractor on this milestone project for Louisiana’s coast.
Mike Hooks was represented at the event by Michael Gerhardt, Senior Director of Government Affairs, and Jasun Harmon, Chief Financial Officer.
