Charlie Melancon: “in the Water Resource Development Act of 2000, Congress authorized a project for hurricane protection known as Morganza…”

“in the Water Resource Development Act of 2000, Congress authorized a project for hurricane protection known as Morganza to the Gulf. This contingent authorization would protect over 200,000 people in their homes, but the contingent authorization expired due to a delayed chief's report. The citizens of Louisiana that live behind this future levee system have passed a tax on themselves that generates roughly $5 million per year in funds dedicated strictly to fund this hurricane protection system. They have waited 6 years to begin construction on this project that Congress directed to be constructed due to a delayed report from the Corps of Engineers. H.R. 6428, introduced by Congressmen Baker and Melancon, authorizes only a small portion of the project as a whole. This bill would allow the people in Terrebonne Parish to begin protecting themselves while we work towards a complete water resources bill. The Melancon-Baker partial authorization bill includes only two reaches of levees, tying into the already existing system of levees. These levees would provide the most protection possible with the limited resources currently available. The bill also authorizes the lock complex on the Houma Navigation Canal to protect against devastating storm surges, such as the one during Hurricane Katrina that ran up the Mississippi River-Gulf outlet and destroyed St. Bernard Parish.”