South Louisiana priorities funded in Army Corps plan: Rep. Garret Graves

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) announced several key Louisiana projects received funding that will address dredging, levee, flood protection, and infrastructure priorities.

The work plan is the regular release of how the Army Corps of Engineers will be funding its projects after the passage of the annual congressional spending bill, Graves said in a news release.

Major investments Graves pushed for during the funding process:

• Morganza to the Gulf: $31 million for the Bayou Terrebonne floodgate and Highway 55 road gate design, as well as designing the levee and control structure for two critical segments of the project. This fourth slug of funding was again secured by Rep. Graves and Rep. Scalise through an individual congressional request.
• Bayous Chene, Bouef, and Black: A historic $41,786,160 to improve the Atchafalaya River’s key waterways.
• Mississippi River Dredging (Baton Rouge to the Gulf): $236,335,185 to maintain river’s current depth while the Corps continues to work to deepen the river for the next generation of PANAMAX vessels. Graves previously worked to secure full funding for that deepening project.
• Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Study: $1 million to continue Graves’ landmark study to revolutionize the management of the Mississippi River- preventing increased flows and flood threat to Louisiana. After authorizing and securing the first $5 million for this effort, this year’s funding was part of the administration’s ask to Congress.
• Gulf Intracoastal Waterway: $18,186,000 ensure the depth of this critical waterway in addition to upgrades to the camera systems at GIWW Lock camera security systems

Other important priorities receiving construction, study, dredging, and maintenance funding include:

• Construction
  • $45,759,850 to support drainage in the New Orleans area.
  • $8,346,000 to support the Beneficial Use of Dredged Material for marsh creation in Calcasieu, Sabine, and Mississippi River Outlets at Venice waterways.
  • $9,000,000 to deepening of a five-mile stretch of the Calcasieu River (Higgins- Cassidy)
  • $15,500,000 to prevent flooding in Pineville, and improving the approach to the Overton Lock and Dam on the J. Bennet Johnston Waterway (Letlow- Cassidy).
  • $10,000,000 for the Southwest Coastal Hurricane Project to design and construct four miles of shoreline restoration from the Calcasieu River to Freshwater Bayou (Higgins- Cassidy).
• Studies
  • Lafitte: $500,000 to begin identifying new federal flood protection options after Hurricane Ida.
  • Port Fourchon Belle Pass Deepening: $303,000 to continue the permitting process (Scalise).
  • Port of Iberia: $1,200,000 to complete the post-feasibility/validation study (Higgins).
  • Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity: $1,000,000 to begin preconstruction engineering and design of additional resiliency features.
• Mississippi River & Tributaries Levee Systems
  • Atchafalaya Basin Floodway System: $1,710,000
  • Atchafalaya Basin:
    • $6,500,000 to construct new levee features
    • $17,583,000 to conduct repairs to improve seepage, guidewalls, and dolphin piles.
  • Baton Rouge Harbor, Devil’s Swamp: $2,063,000
  • Bayou Cocodrie: $50,000
  • Bonnet Carre: $3,658,000
  • $592,000 to support assessments of seven existing levees
  • Lower Red River, South Bank Levees: $499,000
  • Mississippi Delta Region: $715,000
  • Old River: $46,204,000
  • Tensas Basin, Red River Backwater: $2,654,000
• Operations and Maintenance of our Waterways
  • Houma Navigation Canal: $3,667,000 to maintain the current channel. Graves continues to push to ensure that deepening the channel is synced with the completion of the new Houma Navigation Canal Lock Structure.
  • Barataria Bay Waterway: $105,000
  • Bayou Bodcau Waterway: 1,825,000
  • Bayou Lafourche, Lafourche Jump Waterway: $3,967,000
  • Bayou Pierre: $35,000
  • Bayou Segnette: $11,000
  • Bayou Teche, Vermilion River: $182,000
  • Bayou Teche: $202,000
  • Caddo Lake: $337,000
  • Calcasieu River Pass $48,941,815 to maintain the existing channel and support donor and energy transfer port activities.
  • Freshwater Bayou: $19,424,000
  • $1,297,000 to ensure tracking of the depths of South Louisiana’s waterways.
  • J Bennett Johnston Waterway: $13,6497,000
  • Lake Providence Harbor: $1,707,000
  • Madison Parish Port: $319,000
  • Mermentau River: $7,159,000
  • Mississippi River Outlets, Venice: 3,805,000
  • Wallace Lake: $2,085,000
  • Empire to the Gulf: $61,000
  • Intracoastal Waterway to Dulac: $16,000

Source