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A.(1)  In addition to any other provision of law, the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District is authorized and empowered to carry out any and all functions within or outside of its territorial limits necessary to serve, on behalf of the state of Louisiana which shall be the local sponsor, as agent for the state and as the single entity responsible to act and to secure rights of way, to furnish assurances to the secretary of the United States Army, and for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Calcasieu River and Pass Project as designated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

(2)(a)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section to the contrary, the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, or any person on behalf of the district including but not limited to lessees, assignees, or any third party otherwise occupying property, shall not as to property the district owns in Cameron Parish, other than that property which it currently owns in Sections 43 and 44, Township 12 South, Range 9 West and in Sections 1 and 12, Township 12 South, Range 10 West, in the Southwestern Land District, Louisiana Meridian, Cameron Parish, Louisiana, hereafter referred to as “the exempt property”, undertake any port activities in Cameron Parish.

(b)  As used in this Section, “port activities” shall mean the acquisition or leasing of land for the construction, operation, or maintenance of docks, wharfs, sheds, slips, canals, machinery, or industrial plant facilities or facilities for the handling of cargos or materials of any type and other substantially similar activities, other than dredged materials in connection with construction operation and maintenance of the Calcasieu River and Pass Project.  Any function by the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Calcasieu River and Pass Project shall not be considered port activities.

(c)  The Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District may conduct port activities on any property in Cameron Parish pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement or cooperative agreement with the approval of the governing authority of Cameron Parish.  As to the exempt property as defined in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, nothing in this Section shall require the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District to enter into any intergovernmental agreement or cooperative agreement with the governing authority of Cameron Parish.

B.  The district shall have the authority to acquire by purchase, lease, expropriation, or otherwise, any land for the purposes of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Calcasieu River and Pass Project.  The venue for any petition for expropriation filed by the district for property located in Cameron Parish shall be in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 19:2.1.

C.(1)  The district shall not acquire by purchase, lease, expropriation, or otherwise, or convey, sell, assign, or donate any land in Cameron Parish, except for the purposes of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Calcasieu River and Pass Project or pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement with the governing authority of Cameron Parish.

(2)  The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to the exempt property as defined in Subparagraph (A)(2)(a) of this Section.

(3)  Prior to the sale of any land in Cameron Parish purchased or expropriated by the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, the governing authority of Cameron Parish shall have the first right of refusal for the purchase of such land, which right is subordinate to the following:

(a)  A first right of refusal if so reserved in the act of sale by the seller of the property sold to the district.

(b)  A first right of refusal in favor of the owner from whom the property was expropriated.

Acts 2012, No. 848, §1, eff. June 14, 2012.