Louisiana has secured the federal funds necessary to complete the long-delayed Comite River Diversion Canal, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves says.
Nearly $1.4 billion in funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been awarded to Louisiana for flood and hurricane protection projects, Graves’ office announced this afternoon.
“For nearly three decades, construction of the Comite River Diversion Canal has been tied up because of red tape from the federal government,” said Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in a press release, adding the money came after numerous meetings with officials from both the Obama and Trump administrations. “Today, that wait is over.”
The money is coming from five different federal funding streams, Graves says, and will be used for the following projects:
- $343 million to fully fund the Comite River Diversion Canal
- Another $255 million for flood control projects in East Baton Rouge Parish, which would improve drainage for five different bayous
- About $760 million for the West Shore Hurricane Protection Project in St. John, St. Charles and St. James parishes
- $15 million for Grand Isle protection and berm reconstruction
- The remaining $15 million will be split among five different projects, including improvements to the Amite River
The quest to secure additional funding has been steady since the August 2016 floods, involving officials from both the state and federal levels of government. In April, for example, Sen. Bill Cassidy met with corps officials, advocating for the completion of several flood-mitigation projects.
While the feds are providing $255 million for the East Baton Rouge Parish projects, the city-parish will have to eventually pay for 35% of the cost over a 30-year period, Graves tells Daily Report. The Comite River Diversion Canal, however, will be 100% federally funded, with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development constructing the four vehicle bridges that are needed for the canal, Edwards said in the press release.
“It’s all been part of a strategy rooted in frustrations with Corps delays and recognition that, if we get other funding streams, we can move these projects along faster,” says Graves.
The congressman, now in his second term, says his chairmanship of the Water Resources Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Army Corps, uniquely posited him to negotiate a funding package.
Graves says some of the funded projects should kickstart in the next few weeks. Though others will have to sign agreements between the U.S. Army Corps, the state and local entities, Graves predicts all projects to begin by the end of the year.
