U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) commended action by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to forgive up to $68 million in interest obligations owed by Orleans and Jefferson parishes as their share of construction costs for an ongoing flood control project following Hurricane Katrina.
“As I’ve stated since June, we are running through the tape. We will not stop fighting for Louisiana until the fight is through,” Rep. Graves said Nov. 27. “Katrina was nearly 20 years ago, but so many have forgotten what our state stands to lose if we take our eyes off the ball.”
Rep. Graves in a September 2023 letter had requested renegotiation of the terms of the deferred payment agreement (DPA) for the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control (SELA) project to include interest relief, interest recalculation, full or partial forgiveness of interest, and credit for non-federal investment that benefits the SELA project, which is being constructed to help reduce the risk of flood damages due to rainfall in the Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, wrote in an Oct. 30 letter sent to Rep. Graves that, after coordinating with the U.S. Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), he would approve renegotiation of the SELA DPA under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to forgive unpaid interest accrued during construction before completion of each of the project’s separate elements.
“We have been dogged in our pursuit of forcing the federal government to live up to their commitment to make it right with the people of Louisiana and ensure that we don’t allow short-term thinking to stop us from protecting the ecological and physical viability of the state,” said Rep. Graves last week. “If we take our eyes off the ball, we are doomed to see Katrina happen again.”
In 2020, Rep. Graves authored a provision in the WRDA that allowed the State of Louisiana to make accelerated loan payments owed to the federal government for the post-Katrina levee systems surrounding New Orleans in exchange for a complete forgiveness of interest owed on the projects. His efforts saved the state over $1 billion in interest, according to staff.
The second part of the provision allowed for Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, which are predominantly disadvantaged, to request a renegotiation of their own repayment of costs associated with the SELA drainage project.
During the past four years, Rep. Graves said he regularly engaged with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and the OMB to force the Biden administration to follow the law and provide relief to the parishes, which include large swaths that are below sea level.
With the Corps’ Oct. 30 decision to provide interest savings, the funds now can be put into creating more resiliency and flood protection, according to Ghassan Korban, executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans.
“This great result would not have been possible without the persistent efforts of both you and your staff and we want to extend our deepest appreciation to you,” wrote Korban in a Nov. 8 letter sent to Rep. Graves. “We thank you for your tireless work on our behalf.”