U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) hailed recent action by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that includes full funding to complete the Comite River Diversion Canal as part of a nearly $1.4 billion long-term disaster recovery investment plan for Louisiana.
“After decades, this is the day we have been waiting and fighting for,” said Sen. Cassidy. “Securing the funding for the Comite River Diversion and other flood prevention projects is a major win for Louisiana families.”
Specifically, the Army Corps of Engineers on July 5 announced it had allocated $343 million – 100 percent federal funding – to finish the Louisiana flood protection project, which has been on the drawing board since 1985.
The funds are part of the additional work that the Corps plans to accomplish with the almost $17.4 billion in total federal funding provided for disaster recovery under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which became law on Feb. 9.
Among numerous items authorized to be funded under the act, three other projects in addition to the Comite River Diversion Canal project received funds in Louisiana: $760 million for West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane protection; $255 million for East Baton Rouge flood control; and $15 million for Grand Isle hurricane protection. The total $1.373 billion for the state’s projects will come out of the act’s construction account, according to Corps data.
“These hurricane protection and coastal restoration funds are critical for the protection of families and businesses throughout southeast Louisiana,” said Rep. Scalise, who serves as House Majority Whip. “We count on our coastline and flood protection systems to keep us safe from devastating natural disasters, and with these new federal funds, we will be able to strengthen our current flood protection systems and continue our efforts to protect our vanishing coastline.”
Sen. Cassidy added that he plans to “continue to work with local and state officials to make sure that all of our flood protection needs are met” across southeast Louisiana.
In April, the senator met during separate meetings with both Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James, the head of the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Corps’ New Orleans District Commander Col. Michael Clancy to discuss completing the state’s needed flood protection projects.
“Louisiana families in flood-prone areas have waited many years for progress on long-approved and sorely needed flood mitigation projects like Comite,” Sen. Cassidy said that month. “Thousands of homes could have been saved in 2016 if these projects had been completed.”
The Army Corps of Engineers’ overall total $17.398 billion in disaster recovery funding is allocated in the law’s six appropriations accounts: Investigations; Construction; Mississippi River and Tributaries; Operation and Maintenance; Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies; and Expenses.
The Corps said in a July 5 statement that it will use construction account funds to complete 60 flood and storm damage reduction projects in 16 states and one territory.