$2.6 Billion in Funding for Louisiana Projects Announced by Louisiana Governor

January 19, 2022

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced on January 19, 2022, that the state will receive $2.6 billion in US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (Supplemental Disaster Relief). This funding will be used to support coastal, water management, and hurricane risk reduction projects in south Louisiana.

The supplemental disaster relief bill provides funds to help Louisiana recover from Hurricane Ida. Congress appropriated funds to the USACE through the IIJA to increase coastal resilience by funding flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects.

Over $2 billion in funding is included in the supplemental disaster relief bill 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

Over $643 million in funding is included in the IIJA 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

In addition, the USACE allocated a total of $848 million to states bordering the Lower Mississippi River to reinforce levees and improve the channel. The economy of Louisiana is reliant on a well-maintained Mississippi River.

The IIJA contains a number of funding sources that Louisiana could use to protect communities, reduce flood and storm risk, 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

USACE supplemental disaster relief Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) funds totaling more than $690 million have yet to be allocated. Grand Isle and vicinity, Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity, West Bank and vicinity, and New Orleans to Venice are all eligible projects. Additional funding will be announced once the USACE Project Information Report detailing necessary improvements is completed.

The following statements about the funding were given by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Chairman Chip Kline, and Dr. Shawn Wilson, Secretary of DOTD.

“I would like to thank President Biden for recognizing the urgent need for storm protection and flood control funding after touring and seeing firsthand the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida last fall. I would also like to commend the members of our Congressional Delegation who advocated for disaster relief. Additionally, I applaud Sen. Cassidy and Rep. Carter for their instrumental roles in securing funds for Louisiana’s coast through the bipartisan infrastructure bill,” said Gov. Edwards. “Our unrelenting message has been that Louisiana’s coastal crisis is a national crisis. Investments in coastal protection and restoration make life in south Louisiana possible, protect interstate commerce, and support major economic engines that supply goods and services to our entire country. Today’s federal investments show that we are being heard and rewarded for our good work.”

“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.”