Scalise Encourages Public Comment on Corps of Engineers’ Hurricane and Flood Protection Proposals

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Washington, DC -- Congressman Steve Scalise is encouraging residents throughout Southeast Louisiana to provide feedback about the Corps of Engineers’ Category 5 proposal, titled Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) report.

“When the Corps submits their report to Congress later this year, we need to make sure it includes our demands for a stronger level of hurricane and flood protection than the one we had before Katrina,” Scalise said. “We cannot afford to do hurricane protection on the cheap again. While developing the strongest levels of Category 5 protection is expensive, the cost of not getting it right is even greater.”

Scalise is promoting the public comment period on his website as well as through an e-newsletter that was sent out to nearly 30,000 constituents this morning. Scalise also attended a St. Tammany Council meeting last week to discuss this issue. The public comment period ends on July 24, 2009.

Scalise, a long-time proponent of comprehensive hurricane and flood protection as well as coastal restoration, supports strong Category 5 improvements that include:

•    Locks at the Rigolets and Chef Menteur passes to prevent storm surge from entering Lake Pontchartrain,
•    Coastal Restoration, funded by immediate sharing of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues, to rebuild the damage done by coastal erosion and protect us against future storms, and
•    Strengthening of the interior canals at 17th Street and Orleans and London Avenues, comprised in Option 2A which includes the “Pump to the River” plan.

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Contact: Luke Bolar
202-226-4309