La. Admin. Code tit. 76 § IX-109

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section IX-109 - Study and Recommendation of Natural and Scenic Rivers

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.

La. Admin. Code tit. 76, § IX-109

Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 2:456 (December 1976), amended by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Office of the Secretary, LR 17:680 (July 1991).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 56:1845.