Boustany: Louisiana delegation to prioritize dredging, harbor funds

The Louisiana congressional delegation is trying to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize dredging funding including increasing funds to dredge the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel, according to U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany and Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade.
Boustany, R-Lafayette, worked with the state delegation to draft four letters to the Army Corps of Engineers prioritizing the state’s dredging and harbor maintenance projects, according to a news release Thursday from Boustany’s office. The letters are addressed to Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Projects in the 3rd Congressional District include environmental infrastructure projects for the City of Lafayette and City of Lake Charles; Port of Iberia – Acadiana Gulf of Mexico Access Channel; Atchafalaya Basin dredging and flood control, including repairs to the St. Mary Parish Pumping Station, Bayou Boeuf lock, and other necessary maintenance; Atchafalaya Basin Floodway National Environmental Protection Act compliance; Calcasieu Ship Channel dredging; and Bayou Teche dredging funding, the news release said.
“Our senators and all our representatives are going to sign off on it (the letter) just notifying them (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) that the funding for the Atchafalaya River needs to be increased,” Wade said.
Congressional and port officials want to increase funding particularly to dredge the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel, Wade said. In meeting with congressional officials last week, Wade told them that the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel dredged to 20 feet deep and 400 feet wide. “Right now, the channel is only at 275-foot wide,” Wade said. “The river is still at 400-foot. Everything’s fine in the river. It’s the Bar Channel where our problems are.”
Port officials want to keep dredging funds the same for Berwick Bay, Stout’s Pass and Twenty-Grand Point, Wade said.
“Louisiana’s competitive advantage relies in large part on our robust water infrastructure,” Boustany said in the news release. “The Louisiana delegation is working together with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure additional funds from last year’s Omnibus are directed to projects that will provide the largest immediate impact. This is testament to the fact that when we work together, everyone can benefit. I’m pleased to stand with my colleagues and look forward to seeing these projects become a reality.”
The letters acknowledge that the 2015 Omnibus package passed in December 2014 provides additional funding for construction, $583 million; investigations, $39.8 million; Mississippi River & Tributary projects, $57 million; and operations & maintenance, $329 million, and offers guidance for use of these funds in Louisiana, the news release said.