Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Study and Report to the Legislature. Upon
nomination for inclusion or declassification of a river by the legislature
through passage of a concurrent resolution, the administrator shall study, file
a report, and issue a recommendation, to the natural resource committees of the
legislature regarding any river nominated for inclusion in or declassification
from the system. The administrator's recommendation shall be made no sooner
than eight months and no later than 12 months from the date of nomination for
inclusion and no later than 120 days from the date of nomination for
declassification. All recommendations shall use evaluation procedures provided
for in these regulations.
B.
Criteria for Study and Recommendation. In undertaking the study and making the
recommendation, the administrator shall consider, but will not be limited to,
the following criteria:
1. whether the river
is free flowing;
2. whether the
river has been channelized, cleared or snagged, realigned, inundated, or
otherwise altered, within the past 25 years;
3. whether the river has a shoreline covered
by native vegetation;
4. whether
the river has no or few man-made structures along its banks;
5. whether the scene as viewed from the river
is pleasing (i.e., primitive or rural-pastoral) or these conditions are
restorable;
6. whether the river
and its setting possess natural and recreational values of outstanding
quality;
7. whether the river and
its setting are large enough to sustain substantial recreational use and to
accommodate existing uses without undue impairment of the natural values of the
resource or quality of the recreational experience;
8. whether the river will provide present and
future benefits to Louisiana citizens through preserving, protecting, and
enhancing its wilderness qualities, scenic beauties, and ecological regimes and
its aesthetic, scenic, recreational, fish, wildlife, ecological, geological,
botanical, and other natural and physical features and resources found along
the river and adjacent lands;
9.
whether the river receives any point source discharges that would tend to cause
pollution;
10. existing uses of
adjacent lands within 100 feet of the ordinary low water line of the river, and
the economic impact of such usages;
11. state ownership of the bed of the river;
and
12. appropriate longitudinal
boundaries for the river segment to be included within the system.
C. Consultation. Prior to
submission of the report and recommendation to the legislature, the
administrator shall consult with the Louisiana State Planning Office, the
Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and other
agencies that the administrator determines may have an interest in the
evaluation.
D. Form of Report and
Recommendation. The report and recommendation to the legislature shall:
1. be in the form of a written
report;
2. include the evaluation
of the criteria and the recommendation of the administrator;
3. include the written comments of other
agencies; and
4. become part of the
record of the decision regarding the proposed recommendation.
E. Copies of Report. The
administrator shall provide copies of the report to the Louisiana State
Planning Office, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of
Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry,
the governing authorities of those parishes through which the river flows, and
all readily identifiable adjacent landowners. Upon payment to the department
for reproduction costs, the administrator shall provide copies of the report to
all other interested parties who have made a written request for the
report.
F. Written Comments and
Public Hearing. As part of the evaluation process and prior to any
recommendation to the legislature, the administrator shall:
1. provide all interested parties and the
public with the opportunity to submit written comment on the nomination,
allowing a 45-day comment period;
2. pursuant to the Louisiana Administrative
Procedure Act, hold not less than one public hearing in the vicinity of the
river nominated for inclusion in or declassification from the system to receive
comments and recommendations from all interested parties and the public. The
administrator shall give its first notice at least 30 days prior to the
hearing;
3. notices referred to in
this Section will be published in the official journal of each parish in which
the river is located in three separate issues and in the official state
journal; however, the comment period shall begin with publication of the notice
in the official state journal. The administrator shall notify each parish
governing authority of the hearing by letter to its chief executive officer.
The administrator shall also give special notice of the public hearing to all
readily identifiable landowners with property adjacent to the nominated stream
and to other interested parties who have requested such
notifications.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
56:1845.
