La. announces $2.6B in USACE funding

Last week, Louisiana announced $2.6 billion in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) funding, from both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (the supplemental disaster relief bill). The funding will support coastal, water management, and hurricane risk reduction projects throughout the southern part of the state.

The supplemental disaster relief bill provides resources for Louisiana to recover further from Hurricane Ida. The bill includes over $2 billion in funding for coastal and other flood protection projects, including:

• $783 million for New Orleans to Venice Hurricane Protection Project
• $453 million for West Shore Lake Pontchartrain
• $163 million for Atchafalaya Basin
• $128 million for Comite River Diversion
• $94.3 million for Southeast Louisiana
• $8 million for Upper Barataria Basin
• $3.8 million for Grand Isle and Vicinity
• $3.5 million for Bayou Segnette Waterway
• $3 million for Tangipahoa Parish

Through the IIJA, Congress appropriated funds to USACE to increase coastal resilience by funding flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects. The IIJA includes over $643 million in funding for 21 Louisiana coastal and water management projects, including:

• $378.5 million for Morganza to the Gulf
• $125 million for Southwest Coastal
• $52.9 million for Atchafalaya Basin
• $23.2 million for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

Additionally, USACE dedicated a cumulative $848 million across states bordering the Lower Mississippi River to reinforce levees and make improvements to the channel. Louisiana’s economy relies on a well-maintained Mississippi River.

“This historic federal investment should be seen as a national endorsement of Louisiana’s coastal program,” said Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Chairman Chip Kline. “We are seeing, for the first time, significant federal investment in Southwest Coastal, the Atchafalaya Basin, and Morganza to the Gulf. Residents across South Louisiana will benefit from this tremendous investment in our coast. Today is a great day for Coastal Louisiana.”

“Given the history of the Comite River Diversion project and the rapid start with its full funding in 2018, I am happy to see an additional investment from the U.S. Army Corps,” said Dr. Shawn Wilson, Secretary of DOTD. “This resiliency assessment effort will ensure this decades-old project meets the diversion needs of today and the future.”

Over $690 million in USACE supplemental disaster relief Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) funds have yet to be allocated. Eligible projects include Grand Isle and Vicinity, Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity, West Bank and Vicinity, and New Orleans to Venice. Additional funding will be announced upon completion of the USACE Project Information Report that will detail necessary improvements.

The IIJA contains multiple funding sources that could be leveraged by Louisiana to protect communities, reduce risk from floods and storms, and restore ecosystems, including:

• $3.5 billion for FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance
• $1 billion for FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
• $500 million for FEMA to implement the STORM Act
• $492 million to NOAA’s National Coastal Resilience Fund, in partnership with NFWF
• $491 million to NOAA’s Community Based Restoration Program
• $207 million to NOAA for the Coastal Zone Management Program
• $400 million to Department of Interior for ecosystem restoration
• $53 million for EPA’s Lake Pontchartrain Geographic Program
• $53 million for EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Geographic Program