Ashland waste disposal plant to get upgrades

HOUMA, La. (AP) - Terrebonne Parish will replace the scale and administration building at the Ashland solid waste facility.

Officials say updating and flood-proofing the complex allows the waste disposal during normal operations as well as during disaster cleanup to flow more smoothly and effectively.

Solid Waste Administrator Clay Naquin tells The Courier (https://bit.ly/1q6WNrF ) the scales currently in use at the facility are old and cause constant problems.

Naquin says the scales are built into the ground, just three feet above sea level. During periods of heavy rain the scales flood.

“Sometimes they actually float, so we can’t get true scale readings,” Naquin said.

Since the scales are effectively underground, repairs and maintenance on the equipment are expensive.

In hurricane situations, a waste facility that is susceptible to flooding is problematic.

“With some of the past storms, the scales flooded and we had to get portable scales out here,” Naquin said.

With the scales out of commission operations were halted, further hindering cleanup efforts.

The replacement scales will be built up 10 feet above sea level at the base flood-plain elevation.

“This is proactive, to better serve the community post-disaster,” Naquin said.

Replacement of complex’s administration building and weigh station is also part of the roughly $1.3 million project.

Parish Manager Al Levron said the administration building, built in the early 1980s, is also prone to flooding.

“It’s well below the base flood elevation for any flood. And it has been inundated a number of times,” Levron said.

A new modular building will be placed on the complex grounds to consolidate the administration building and scale house. This will streamline collection and weigh-in processes, Naquin said.

The building will be above flood-plain elevation. Manufacturing specifics also have the building rated to resist wind speeds of over 100 mph.

Municipal trash collection schedules will not be affected by installation and construction of the equipment, Naquin said.

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Information from: The Courier, https://www.houmatoday.com