Gov. John Bel Edwards joined the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week in announcing his proposal to allocate $150 million in surplus funding toward coastal restoration and protection projects, with $22 million of that surplus directly impacting two local projects.
The LaBranche Shoreline Protection program and the Montz Pump Station project, both in St. Charles Parish, are included in the proposal. The proposal must now be approved by the legislature before the projects can be fully funded.
“I am glad to see that the governor’s proposal includes two substantial projects in St. Charles Parish and will be encouraging our State Legislators to support this proposal,” Parish President Matthew Jewell said.
The LaBranche Shoreline Protection project is a rock breakwater project designed to protect 12,000 linear feet of Lake Ponchartrain’s southern shoreline in St. Charles Parish. This project was initiated in 2015 and is now shovel-ready, pending the proper permitting.
The Montz Pump Station is a direct result of the parish’s East Bank Master Drainage Plan. The 267 CFS pump station will redirect drainage flow into the spillway, where the water will free flow to Lake Pontchartrain. The project is in the design phase and is slated to begin in early 2023.
“At this moment, we are reaping the rewards of over a decade and a half of planning and implementation efforts,” Edwards said. “We have invested in the science and directed every available dollar toward projects that deliver real benefits to our people. Our track record of investment and implementation has allowed CPRA’s program to grow steadily into the success story it is today. The confidence we have in our coastal program has now been reaffirmed by an even larger investment from the federal government. I am now asking the legislature to help us recover further from the devastating hurricanes of 2020 and 2021 by dedicating $150 million of state surplus to projects that will make us safer and more resilient well into the future.”
CPRA Chairman Chip Kline said the authority’s 2023 Annual Plan is the largest in CPRA history, with over a billion dollars allocated for construction and major investments in hurricane protection, sediment diversions and 23 dredging projects across Louisiana’s coast.
“We are excited to see the prioritization of vital coastal restoration and protection projects in this year’s surplus funding,” he said.
What are we doing for the people of St Charles parish whom homes need major repairs? Delayed or barely any assistance from FEMA.