Lt. Gen. Scott Spellman, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commanding general and 55th Chief of Engineers, yesterday approved the Chief’s Report for the Upper Barataria Basin Louisiana Feasibility Study, setting the conditions for $1.6B in flood risk investment in Louisiana.
The plan, now pending congressional approval, would provide improved hurricane risk reduction to six parishes. The recommended alternative includes the construction of a 31-mile levee system with minimum 14-foot elevation spanning from Raceland to Luling.
Approval of the Chief’s Report would also authorize the use of $8 million in disaster supplemental funds toward pre-construction engineering and design.
The Upper Barataria Basin project will provide hurricane and storm surge damage risk reduction measures in the 800 square mile study area located in Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist Parishes.
The Upper Barataria Basin, Louisiana Feasibility Study began in late 2018 with 100 percent federal funding from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority as the nonfederal sponsor.