Levee district to get $4.5M from feds

St. Mary Levee District officials expect to get $4.5 million in federal reimbursement for the flood protection work the district undertook to protect six parishes from flooding.
President Barack Obama declared an emergency Friday in Louisiana in areas affected by flooding that occurred Dec. 28 through Feb. 1, The Associated Press reported.
The White House, in a news release, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impact of the emergency. The emergency declaration provides 75 percent in federal funding toward projects associated with the emergency, according to the article.
St. Mary Levee District Executive Director Tim Matte said the reimbursement will help pay for the temporary closure of Bayou Chene, which included sinking a barge and then installing steel sheet pilings around the barge to block the water flow.
Officials estimate the district will spend $6 million on flood fight expenses that also includes removal of the Bayou Chene structure and some levee patchwork in Amelia, Matte said.
“For us to incur $6 million would have pretty much wiped out our reserves,” Matte said. “We would not have sufficient funds to move forward with the Bayou Chene permanent project design or any of the other flood measures that we would have liked to have taken up. So it’s significant in that regard.”
Plus, the St. Mary Levee District plans to look for monetary assistance from the other parishes that benefited from the temporary Bayou Chene closure as well as assistance from state government, Matte said. The closure on Bayou Chene protected the Amelia area, lower St. Martin, Terrebonne, Assumption, Lafourche and Iberville parishes from flooding.
Matte isn’t sure yet when the levee district may be able to remove the temporary flood protection structure, and officials continue to watch the river level predictions, he said.
The Atchafalaya River crested at 8.18 feet Jan. 22 in Morgan City and has been dropping since then.
Other governmental entities will also receive some benefit from the federal reimbursement.
The Port of Morgan City spent $50,000 to $60,000 on items associated with the flood fight, Port Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said. Those costs include expenses at the port’s dock and Government Emergency Operations Center, he said.
The city of Morgan City incurred over $5,000 in flood fight costs including providing security detail at the port’s emergency center, assisting the Louisiana National Guard on Avoca Island installing HESCO baskets and installing sand bags, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said. The town of Berwick spent about $3,000 on flood-related expenses, said Newell “Bubba” Slaughter, Berwick’s chief administrative officer.