6th district candidates visit Morgan City

One candidate for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District has already visited Morgan City and another one plans to visit for a fundraiser at the end of the month even though the city is just outside the congressional district.
Morgan City is in the 3rd Congressional District.
“This district is as gerrymandered as they come,” U.S. Rep. candidate Garret Graves said of Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District that includes 13 parishes. The district runs from north Baton Rouge to the coast in Terrebonne Parish and includes the coastal area immediately south of Morgan City, Graves said.
The district is composed of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. John the Baptist, Terrebonne and West Baton Rouge parishes.
The issues that are important to the district, including maritime, port, hurricane and coastal issues, are ones that affect all of south Louisiana, Graves said.
Candidate Edwin Edwards plans to visit Morgan City May 28 for a fundraising event at NicoBellas. Morgan City is on the southern end of the district, but Edwards also has friends in the area who wanted to hold a fundraiser for him, Edwards said.
People in south Louisiana are very concerned about the cost of homeowner’s flood insurance right now, which has to be addressed on the national level, Edwards said.
“I intend, as a congressman, to work with other members and senators to try to get some sense into that whole problem because it isn’t fair for the homeowners to have to bear whole burden of the cost of those damages,” Edwards said.
Graves has visited Morgan City about 100 times in the past 20 years, he said. He has worked on levee issues, preserving the Atchafalaya Basin and U.S. 90 upgrades, Graves said. Graves worked for congressmen who represented the Morgan City area.
Regarding the levee board lawsuits against oil and gas companies for coastal erosion, Graves said, “Sen. (Bret) Allain is a great leader on this issue, and I think the people in Morgan City understand this issue better than most.”
Graves said state Rep. Sam Jones has also voiced support for not holding the oil and gas companies accountable for what the corps has done.
Before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began putting levees on the Mississippi River to the east, that area was also building land, Graves said. “It is not the oil and gas industry that is the primary cause of land loss in south Louisiana. It is the levees on the Mississippi River system that sequestered or prevented all of the freshwater and sediment from getting out into the wetlands,” Graves said.
Vermilion and Iberia parishes have decaying marshes while the Wax Lake and Atchafalaya deltas are thriving, Graves said.
“The primary cause of land loss is how the Corps of Engineers put levees on the Mississippi River system,” Graves said. “Probably 90 percent of the coastal land loss is a result of that.”
Holding oil and gas companies responsible for what the Corps of Engineers did is ridiculous, Graves said.
Edwards said damage to the marsh and the receding coastline are two important issues in Louisiana. “Some of the candidates running do not want to file suit against the oil companies to have them pay their share,” Edwards said. “I don’t blame them or say it’s their obligation. My position is simply that we ought to let the courts decide who … is responsible for the damage and try to get it repaired.”
Edwards would also continue efforts at a national level to get federal aid to repair the state’s coastline, he said.
Edwards said California homeowners do not bear the burden of damage costs where forest fires occur nor do homeowners in New Jersey when that state experiences a hurricane. “I just think that FEMA has treated the area unfairly in that regard,” Edwards said.
Graves said Morgan City was one of the first areas to have coastal and offshore energy production. The area has training and fabrication facilities and suppliers, Graves said.
“Morgan City has a long history, nearly 100 years, in being a jumping off point for the energy industry,” Graves said.
People in Morgan City understand the employment associated with the oil and gas industry and more importantly, understand that the Atchafalaya River and Wax Lake Outlet are two of the only places in the state that are continuing to grow land through riverine sediment buildup, Graves said.
Graves said he has a long history working with Rep. Charles Boustany and Rep. Steve Scalise and worked for Sen. David Vitter. “I think those relationships are critical,” Graves said. “We have a small state. We have small delegation. The only way we’re going to be effective is working together.”
Graves plans to return to St. Mary Parish on the campaign trail as people have offered to host fundraising events for him, he said.
Louisiana is the only state in the country that has the coastal challenges that the state faces, and Louisiana needs someone in Congress who understands those issues, Graves said.
Edwards has visited Morgan City throughout his career. He came to Morgan City when the U.S. 90 bridge was dedicated.
Edwards would also work closely with Boustany, who is married to Edwards’ niece, he said. “We’ve been good friends for a long time. I’m looking forward to working with him because he’s a Republican, but he’s also very responsible, practical and willing to work across party lines to try to get things done. And so am I.”
Edwards said he anxious to get to Morgan City to see old friends and make new ones.