Borrow Material for Levees The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District is in the midst of an unprecedented search for clay material to rebuild and reinforce the Greater New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) in southeast Louisiana. Currently, the New Orleans District needs over 100 million cubic yards of material to complete the construction of scheduled hurricane protection levees and floodwalls. This website was created to serve as a reference for all landowners interested in providing clay material for these projects. Clay Specifications The earthen clay material shall be naturally occurring or Contractor blended. Addition of lime, cement, or other soil amendments for any reason is not permitted. Soil that is classified in accordance with ASTM D2487 and the Unified Soil Classification System as CH and CL is suitable. Soil classified as ML shall be considered unsuitable; however, minor amounts of ML may be suitably blended with CH or CL to formulate a material that classifies as a CL as per ASTM D2487. Soil must be free from masses of organic matter, sticks, branches, roots, and other debris, including hazardous and regulated solid wastes. Soil from a Contractor-supplied earthen clay material source may not contain excessive amounts of wood, however isolated pieces of wood will not be considered objectionable in the embankment provided their length does not exceed 1 foot, their cross-sectional area is less than four (4) square inches, and they are distributed throughout the fill. Not more than 1% (by volume) of objectionable material shall be contained in clay material ordered by the Government. Pockets and/or zones of wood shall not be acceptable. Material consisting of greater than 35% sands (by dry weight) or materials with a Plasticity Index (PI) of less than 10 will not be accepted as well as material having an organic content exceeding 9% by weight. Under no circumstances shall frozen earth, snow, or ice in the material be considered acceptable.

Government Furnished Pits For Government furnished borrow pits, the Corps of Engineers will conduct site visits, perform soil borings and testing, acquire all pertinent environmental clearances, and be responsible for borrow material excavations. Using this method, the landowner simply provides the New Orleans District with a signed right-of-entry (ROE) form and the district takes care of the rest. Using this method, landowners will be compensated on a per-acreage basis commensurate with current land values of the area surrounding the potential borrow site.

Contractor Furnished Pits For Contractor Furnished borrow pits, individual landowners are responsible for soil boring and testing and acquiring state and federal environmental clearances. Upon completing all required tasks, the landowner will submit a complete package to New Orleans District for approval. After this approval, the borrow site will be placed on the Government Approved list. Landowners may then be contacted by levee-building contractors to acquire borrow material. Landowners will be compensated on a cubic yardage basis. Agreements will solely be between private entities, and at no point in time will the landowner have an agreement with New Orleans District. Additionally, there are no guarantees that the landowner will ever sell borrow material for the HSDRRS levees. Supply Contract The Government may secure borrow material through a supply contractor that would deliver material to the construction site and/or stockpile area for placement by the construction contractor. Technical specifications and contracting procedures for this type of procurement are currently underway.

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Contact Soheila Nazarian Holley, P. E. New Orleans, La. 504-862-1007 504-862-1785 fax soheila.n.holley@usace.army.mil

Contact for contractor furnished borrow Tutashinda Salaam 504-862-2430 tutashinda.salaam@usace.army.mil

Updated July 2, 2007