Scalise Continues Fight for Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Projects

Washington, DC -- Congressman Steve Scalise today submitted a statement for the record to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure about the continued need to include Southeast Louisiana flood protection projects in the Water Resources Development Act of (WRDA) 2010.

“It has been three years since the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and thousands of families in Southeast Louisiana still don’t have adequate flood protection,” Scalise said. “That is why I am urging my colleagues to authorize flood protection for the Slidell area and St. Tammany Parish through projects like improving and widening Schneider’s Canal and the construction of a barrier structure on the Eastern edge of Lake Pontchartrain.”

In January, Scalise brought Congressman John Boozman (R-AR), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee that authorizes flood protection and hurricane recovery projects, to Southeast Louisiana. Scalise showed Boozman various flood protection and hurricane recovery projects in St. Tammany Parish and New Orleans, and emphasized the need for Congress to authorize these and other flood protection projects to ensure the safety of residents in Southeast Louisiana.

Scalise’s full Statement to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure follows below.

Congressman Steve Scalise

Statement for the Record

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Hearing on “The Water Resources Development Act of 2007:
A Review of Implementation in its Third Year”

March 3, 2010

I would first like to thank the committee for its leadership in authorizing important flood protection projects in WRDA 2007. For over two million people living in South Louisiana, these projects protect their homes, businesses, churches, and schools from the damage caused by major hurricanes. The Committee should be commended for its work in decreasing the risk of major flooding, improving the long-term safety of our citizens, and preserving the crucial role South Louisiana plays in the larger U.S. economy.

While progress has been made to protect South Louisiana from hurricanes, we must go further to achieve long-term sustainability. We in South Louisiana have to face the reality of these massive hurricanes every year, but we should not have to live with the great risk of major flooding. I am hopeful that WRDA 2010 will authorize the flood protection projects that our region so desperately needs. To wait another seven years to authorize new projects would compromise the safety of South Louisiana’s citizens and place the energy security of the United States at risk. Roughly 80 percent of our country's offshore domestic oil and gas supply is produced off the coast of Louisiana, and as we attempt to make America more energy independent, the value of Louisiana’s energy resources will increase dramatically.

In addition, two of the largest ports in the United States are located in coastal Louisiana. The Port of New Orleans handles the fifth largest volume of cargo of any port in the United States, and the Port of South Louisiana is the largest tonnage port in the Western Hemisphere. Situated around the mouth of the Mississippi River, the busiest maritime superhighway in North America, Louisiana’s energy resources and shipping infrastructure urgently need better protection- it is in our country’s national interest.

In order to build the important flood protection projects we so desperately need, the Army Corps of Engineers must act with heightened urgency. The Corps continues to miss deadline after deadline while the people of South Louisiana live with the risk of catastrophic flooding due to hurricanes. In the FY06 Energy and Water Appropriations bill (P.L. 109-103) and 3rd Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill (P.L. 109-148), Congress required the Corps of Engineers to develop a multi-approach plan (flood control, coastal restoration and hurricane protection) to provide up to Category 5 hurricane protection for South Louisiana. The final report was to be submitted to Congress within two years of enactment (by December of 2007). Section 7014 of WRDA 07 directs the Corps to provide specific project recommendations as part of the report. This report has not yet been presented to Congress. In addition, Title VII of WRDA 07 includes 15 near term projects designed to redistribute the freshwater, nutrients and sediment resources in an effort to abate land loss. All 15 of the near term projects were authorized for construction in WRDA 07, however to date none of the projects are being constructed. Let me be clear, every deadline the Corps misses is a step backward in the recovery of our region.

Furthermore, the Corps has not progressed in its interpretation of proposals that would make South Louisiana safer. For example, the Corps has dragged its feet on implementing new plans for beneficial use of dredged sediment. This sediment could be used to rebuild our coastal wetlands- the buffer that weakens storm surge before it reaches areas where people live. Instead, over 85 percent of the Mississippi River sediment load is flushed out to sea and wasted because the Corps refuses to rethink their flawed interpretation of the statutes on the books. Also, the Corps acknowledges that options 2 and 2a to improve interior drainage in Jefferson and Orleans parishes would make our communities safer, yet they continue to endorse cheaper options that place citizens at greater risk.

Clearly, we have much work left to do to ensure the long term protection of our region throughout the entire Lake Pontchartrain basin. Projects like widening and modernizing Schneider’s Canal in Slidell, Louisiana, and building a barrier structure at the eastern edge of Lake Ponchartrain, would help protect citizens living on the north shore of the Lake. Home to over 90,000 people, the Slidell area sustained catastrophic flood damage during Hurricane Katrina, but has been completely forgotten in terms of building stronger flood protection projects since the storm.

I look forward to working with the committee to include projects in WRDA 2010 that strengthen South Louisiana’s flood protection system. We live in an area of great importance to the American economy and cultural identity, and it must be protected. The ultimate goal of our region is to build a flood protection system that allows us to look back at Katrina and say “never again.” I would like to thank the committee for its efforts, and look forward to working with you in the future to achieve this fundamental goal.

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Contact: Luke Bolar
202-226-4309