Louisiana Receives $163 Million for Flood Mitigation Projects
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy announced $163 million in federal funding for several flood mitigation projects across Louisiana.
“Louisiana experienced devastating floods in recent years that accelerated the need to develop infrastructure projects for flood-prone communities,” said Dr. Cassidy in a press release on his website. “These funds deliver protection to residents and businesses and will considerably reduce the risk of flooding.”
The money released is part of the $1.2 billion in flood mitigation funding for Louisiana, which Cassidy secured from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2019, according to the senator's website. Cassidy played a key role in getting the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Program funded for the first time ever in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.
Congress appropriated $12 billion in CDBG-MIT funds in the Bipartisan Budget Act specifically for flood mitigation projects for qualifying disasters from 2015 to 17, according to the press release. HUD allocated an additional $3.9 billion to bring the total amount of mitigation funds to nearly $16 billion.
The projects receiving funding include:
- $42 million for construction and drainage improvements on the Louisiana Highway 22 bridge in Ascension and Livingston Parishes;
- $25 million for Mermentau Basin inundation relief project in Cameron and Vermillion Parishes;
- $15 million for drainage improvements in Livingston Parish;
- $14.3 million for watershed improvements along Anacoco Creek in Vernon Parish;
- $12.8 million for flood surcharge management for Bundick Lake in Beauregard Parish;
- $10.2 million for retention improvements and critical infrastructure hardening along Turkey Creek in Franklin Parish;
- $10 million for residential elevations and buyouts in St. Tammany Parish;
- $10 million for residential elevations and buyouts in Vermillion Parish;
- $6.6 million for structure hardening and runoff retention improvements along Black Bayou in Caddo Parish;
- $5 million for the University Lakes flood risk reduction project in East Baton Rouge Parish;
- $3.7 million for drainage improvements at LSU Alexandria in Rapides Parish;
- $2.9 million for backwater flood reduction at Three Mile Lake in St. Landry Parish;
- $2.7 million for flood surcharge management at Caney Lake in Jackson Parish;
- $2.2 million for runoff retention and critical infrastructure improvements along Bayou Cocodrie in Rapides and Evangeline Parishes; And
- $1.1 million for Iatt Lake drawdown improvements in Grant Parish.
