Morgan City Rotary Club members learned of the activities and expansions of the Port of Morgan City from Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade at a recent luncheon. From left are Rotary President Donald Stephens; Tori Henry, port administrative assistant; Cindy Cutrera, Port manager of economic development; Greg Aucoin, a past port commissioner; Wade; and club program director Louis Tamporello Jr.

Wade spoke about the new Emergency Operations Center, the new tenants for the Port and other Port of Morgan City activities. From left are Tori Henry, port administrative assistant; Tim Matte, Kiwanis member; Cindy Cutrera, port economic development manager; and Wade.

Workers were driving test pilings Wednesday at the new Government and Emergency Operations Center in Morgan City. The center is expected to be in operation by the 2015 hurricane season.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is trying to make sure the Port of Morgan City and other oil field ports receive proper credit for the value of cargo traveling through those ports, and in turn, provide more funding for river dredging, Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said today. In a Tuesday news release, Landrieu said she has added a provision that will require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to factor in the value of goods and equipment used in offshore energy production including fabrication, and servicing and supplying offshore rigs when deciding which projects to build and which channels to dredge. Landrieu is chairwoman of the Senate Energy and NaturalResources Committee. Coastal energy ports get shortchanged in corps funding, Landrieu said. “The corps can count dirt, but not drilling mud,” Landrieu said. “They can track textile products, but not the topsides that produce energy off our coasts. It is time that this nation begins recognizing the value of our domestic energy industry and investing in the basic infrastructure it needs to grow and prosper,” Landrieu said. The new provision is part of the annual appropriations bill that funds the Department of Energy and the Corps of Engineers. The bill is expected to receive final approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday, according to the new release. The current corps process prioritizes projects based on the tonnage that moves in and out of a port, the news release said. However, the process fails to capture much of the specialized cargo handled by Louisiana’s energy ports, which include Port Fourchon, the Port of Terrebonne, the Port of Iberia, the Port of Morgan City, Plaquemines Parish Port, Harbor and Terminal District, and the Port of Lake Charles putting them at an unfair disadvantage as they compete for limited corps funding, the release stated.

Read more: Landrieu pushes to give proper credit for energy ports

By JEAN L. McCORKLE
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Despite all appearances that the 2014 hurricane season will be a mild one with El Niño emerging to tame the height of the season, the National Weather Service and emergency planners aren’t letting their guard down. “It doesn’t take an active season to make it a bad one locally if we are hit by the only landfalling hurricane in the USA,” A n d y Patrick of the National We a t h e r Service told about 100 people Wednesday at a hurricane preparedness public forum sponsored by U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, along with the Port of Morgan City. Boustany holds forums annually in Lafayette, Lake Charles and Morgan City. “The bottom line is it almost seems like we’re due for one,” Patrick said. Patrick noted that in 1957 a moderate El Niño didn’t stop Category 4 Hurricane Audrey from forming. Likewise, Hurricane Andrew struck Homestead, Fla., as a Category 5 and Morgan City as a Category 3 in 1992, a neutral El Niño year. St. Mary Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Duval Arthur said the most important thing to do is to begin planning now. “Get a plan for you and for your family, and get a plan for you and your company,” he said. Have a place to go, bring enough supplies for three days along with important papers and insurance cards and remember that residents can’t return home until officials give the all-clear, he said. For businesses, he said it’s important in an evacuation for managers to have cell numbers for all employees as well as a list of their destinations. If an evacuation is called, the parish’s emergency notification system will call 29,553 phones, among them 1,716 cellphones, to alert the public. To register a cellphone for parish emergency alerts, visit the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness website at www.stmaryohsep.org. Arthur said St. Mary Parish residents without a way out will be able to evacuate to the Rapides Coliseum in Alexandria via school buses contracted from the St. Mary Parish School Board. The pickup locations are Morgan City Junior High and Franklin High School, he said. The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Click here for more photos.

Published by Daily Review May 15, 2014