Louisiana’s top agriculture officials says opening a spillway north of Baton Rouge to ease pressure on Mississippi River levees will flood thousands of acres of farm land and should be considered a natural disaster. Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says producers won’t be able to make crop insurance claims if the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Risk Management fails to designate flooding from the opening of the Morganza Spillway as a natural disaster. He says opening the spillway would inundate 18,000 acres of crops. Strain asserts that even if the spillway isn’t opened, the spillway gates could be damaged by floodwater. That, he argued, could result in more severe flooding. Therefore, he reasons, the use of the spillway should be designated a natural disaster.
Strain: Spillway opening should be termed a natural disaster
Sign up for the free Daily Report email – local news about the people, companies and issues that impact business impact business in Baton Rouge and beyond.
