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Port of Morgan City to build Government Emergency Operations Center across from Morgan City Municipal Auditorium

April 25, 2014 – PORT OF MORGAN CITY, LA, The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District (Port of Morgan City) is pleased to announce that initial soils testing has begun for the approximately $9.5 million, 30,000 square foot, two-level Government Emergency Operations Center for the Port of Morgan City and surrounding communities.  Senator Bret Allain, Representative Sam Jones and Representative Joe Harrison were instrumental in securing Capital Outlay funding in the amount of $7.1 million for the construction of the Center. 

The facility, which is to be located on Highway 182, between Myrtle Street and Martin Luther King Blvd., adjacent to the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium, will effectively serve as a fully integrated interoperable governmental command center for emergency response and recovery operations.  The facility will allow for efficient coordination during any high risk incident such as a period of extreme weather or a maritime emergency.  At the onset of an emergency situation, command will be assumed by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), U. S. Coast Guard, FEMA and others.  Additional organizations and agencies are also planned to occupy portions of the facility in the future.

Ardaman and Associates will be performing soil investigations on the property over the next few weeks.  The facility is being designed by Morgan City Architect Carl P. Blum, and project management is being provided by EnGarde Consulting.  In response to the growing oil and gas industry in South Louisiana that will create additional traffic through the Port of Morgan City, all parties will be following a very aggressive project delivery schedule in order to be prepared to respond to emergency situations as soon as possible.  Plans call for the Center to be fully operational prior to the 2015 hurricane season.

The Port of Morgan City is resourced to provide support during recovery operations by utilizing its equipment and vessel to provide real-time assessment to the command center so that marine operations can resume promptly and effectively.

Port of Morgan City Executive Director, Raymond M. “Mac” Wade stated, “This is a prime location for a Governmental Emergency Operations Center.  The property is in close proximity to the Morgan City Police Department and The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Department Morgan City Office.  Additionally, the Center will be contiguous to the municipal auditorium which has been historically utilized in emergencies for staging areas by agencies such as the National Guard, FEMA, and the Corps of Engineers.”

The Port of Morgan City is centrally located along the “Oil and Gas Port Corridor” which extends from Grand Isle to Intracoastal City in South Central Louisiana.  The Port is approximately 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico at the intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Atchafalaya River.  This location allows access to the Gulf of Mexico and to locations to the north, east and west while still providing safe harbor for vessels from surrounding ports during inclement weather.

“The Port’s goal is to help the Port District, St. Mary Parish and the Oil and Gas Port Corridor become more resilient so that we can put our people back to work as quickly as possible in the aftermath of a disaster,” said Wade.
For more information about the Port of Morgan City visit our website at www.portofmc.com.

For more information on this project, contact:

Cindy Cutrera
985-384-0850, Extension 114

Affiliations

National Waterways Conference Gulf Ports Assoc of the Americas Louisiana Industrial Develpment Esecutives Assoc Ports Association of Louisiana Gulf Intracostal Canal Association Inland Rivers Ports and Terminals US Coast Guard Houma

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