Emergency center to be constructed before 2015 hurricane season

Port of Morgan City officials plan for the port’s government operations and emergency center to be fully operational prior to the 2015 hurricane season, according to a news release.
Initial soils testing began Thursday for the roughly $9.5 million, 30,000 square foot, two-level government emergency operations center for the Port of Morgan City and surrounding communities. Ardaman and Associates will be performing soil investigations on the property over the next few weeks.
Sen. Bret Allain, Rep. Sam Jones and Rep. Joe Harrison were instrumental in securing $7.1 million in state capital outlay funding for the construction of the center, the release stated.
The facility, which will be located on La. 182 adjacent to the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium between Myrtle Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, will effectively serve as a fully integrated interoperable governmental command center for emergency response and recovery operations, the release stated.
“This is a prime location for a governmental emergency operations center,” Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said. “The property is in close proximity to the Morgan City Police Department and The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Department Morgan City Office.”
The facility will allow for efficient coordination during any high risk incident such as a period of extreme weather or a maritime emergency. When an emergency situation occurs, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, U.S. Coast Guard, FEMA and others will assume command of the center, the release stated. Additional organizations and agencies are also planned to occupy portions of the facility in the future.
Morgan City architect Carl P. Blum is designing the facility, and EnGarde Consulting is the project manager. All parties will be following an aggressive project schedule in order to be prepared to respond to emergency situations as soon as possible, the release said.
The Port of Morgan City can provide support during recovery operations by utilizing its equipment and vessels to provide real-time assessment to the command center so that marine operations can resume promptly, the release stated.
“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,” Wade said.
The port is about 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico at the intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Atchafalaya River. The 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,” Wade said.