Submitted by United States Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana
WASHINGTON (December 19, 2024) – The Senate today passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 to authorize funding for Louisiana priorities that Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) championed. The bill now moves to the president’s desk.
“Louisiana depends on crucial water projects to help keep our communities safe. This year’s WRDA will ensure that the Army Corps of Engineers’ can complete projects quickly and efficiently,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy helped secure a provision into this year’s WRDA that would ensure Louisiana does not pay interest on the construction costs of the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS). The provision could save Louisiana millions of dollars.
The senator also helped secure the following wins, which would direct the Army Corps of Engineers to:
- Make channel improvements to Mile Branch in Covington, La. as part of the St. Tammany Flood Risk Management Project.
- Install closure gates in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin as part of the Lake Pontchartrain Storm Surge Reduction Project.
- Expand the Alexandria to the Gulf Project to address flood damage in the region.
- Raise levees to keep Louisianians’ communities safe from flood waters.
- Make improvements to the Pointe Celeste Pump Station in Plaquemines Parish.
- Investigate geotechnical data on the Larose and Golden Meadow levee to reduce the cost of flood control design throughout coastal Louisiana.
- Operate and restore all features of the West Bank and Vicinity, New Orleans and Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project.
- Connect the Morganza to the Gulf and Upper Barataria Basin Projects to protect the area from storm surge and backwater flooding.
- Extend the Non-Federal Project Implementation Pilot Program to 2030 so that the Corps can work with local partners to complete flood protection projects quickly and efficiently.
- Prioritize the engineering and designing of the Upper Barataria Risk Reduction System.
- Authorize Port Fourchon to study the deepening of federal water channels to more than 30 feet so that large vessels can access the port.
- Allow for more dredging as part of the Port Fourchon Belle Pass Deepening Project so that the port becomes deep enough for large ships.
- Modify the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project to include the lower 63 miles of the east bank of the Ouachita River Levee System.
This year’s WRDA also includes a provision that directs the Comptroller General to conduct a Government Accountability Office study on the Army Corps’ policies in order to prevent delays in water resource projects.
