U.S. Senator David Vitter yesterday released the following statement upon the completion of the Army Corps of Engineers Chief’s Report to address coastal restoration and storm damage risk reduction in Southwest Louisiana.
“This Chief’s Report is a huge step forward for restoring our coastline and better protecting our communities across Southwest Louisiana from natural disasters ,” said Vitter.
“While today’s announcement is certainly a victory, there are still several steps until we break ground on these projects, and I will absolutely continue working to keep this positive momentum going for these critical, long-term Corps projects in Louisiana.”
Vitter championed this project through the Corps’ arduous study process, resulting in a Chief’s Report authorizing the elevation and flood-proofing of homes and businesses, the construction of flood berms and the restoration and protection of nearly 15,500 and 260,000 acres of coastal wetlands respectively throughout Calcasieu, Cameron and Vermilion parishes.
Vitter included authorization for the environmental restoration component of this project in the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) language in Title 7 of Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007.