Maurice residents question pipe on construction site

MAURICE — A handful of Maurice residents had concerns when they saw a few hundred feet of steel pipe on the grounds where construction is taking place to build the new Acadiana Ford Dealership. Their concern was, “Who gave the OK to put the steel pipe in the ground?”
Curtis Catalon and other residents, along with Maurice Mayor Wayne Theriot and alderman Warren Rost attended the Coulee Kinney Drainage District Board meeting Thursday night to find who gave the construction company the OK to put the pipe in the ground.
Catalon said the pipe looked too small and may hamper drainage for a big rain.
Everyone learned the Coulee Kinney Drainage Board did not give their stamp of approval for the hundreds of feet to be buried. The Village of Maurice Board of Aldermen also did not give the OK for the pipe.
After a 75-minute discussion back and forth with Travis Laurent, the engineer of Paul L. Miers Engineering, who is in charge of the construction, drainage board president John Andrus gave instructions to Laurent on what to do before any pipe goes into the ground.
Andrus explained to the residents that there is a “glitch in the system” which lets the engineering firm go forth with placing the pipe in the ground without the drainage board’s approval. But Andrus explained, the “glitch” needs to be fixed.
“Hopefully that will never happen again,” said Andrus about the hundreds of yards of drainage pipe being taken to the location without anyone’s approval of it being buried. “It is a glitch in the system that happens. No one is trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.”
Andrus said as soon as he found out there was steel pipe on location and the drainage board was not aware that a ditch was about to be closed without the drainage board’s approval, he made phone calls.
“It got stopped right there,” said Andrus.
The residents were also concerned with the type of pipe being buried. They learned it was a galvanized steel pipe instead of a concrete pipe. Their argument was that steel will rust away in 15 years and who is responsible for repairing or replacing the pipe when that happens.
Andrus said the drainage board does not normally get involved with the type of pipe being placed in the ground, but this is also the first time someone places steel pipe into the ground instead of concrete pipe.
“I have some concerns that it is a galvanized pipe,” Andrus added. “If we are going to allow this type of pipe, we would like more information on this.”
The drainage board agreed to let the engineers figure out what is the correct pipe to place into the ground and then they will report back to the drainage board.