Cassidy Secures Commitment To Boost Morganza

Press Release

oday, Congressmen Bill Cassidy, M.D. successfully amend the Water Resources Reform Development Act of 2012 to advance the Morganza to the Gulf project, the amendment and the bill are expected to overwhelmingly pass the House today. Specifically, the amendment will ensure local stakeholders can continue building Morganza to the Gulf with the guarantee of federal reimbursement upon authorization.

Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said, "this amendment to WRRDA is an important step forward in protecting coastal Louisiana and ensuring communities get credit for work they are doing.

He continued, "the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee adopted many reforms that I presented on behalf of my constituents that will benefit not only Louisiana but people across the country. Our experience dealing with floods and the Corp of Engineers and have given us the a unique perspective on this. These reforms make it possible that Morganza to the Gulf will be built more quickly."

Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), Chairman of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said "Congressman Bill Cassidy has been a tireless leader on flood protection and coastal restoration. He is instrumental in leading comprehensive reforms to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that scale back bureaucracy and redundancy; resulting in greater expediency of critical flood protection and infrastructure projects in Louisiana and around the country."

Congressmen Cassidy's amendment was written with Morganza to the Gulf in mind, though the provision would be applicable to other projects. Additionally, he spoke on the House floor on passing the Water Resources Reform Development Act, and the critical need to authorize the Morganza to the Gulf project. He secured a commitment from Shuster to hold all the necessary hearings and congressional reviews in order to clear a path for the project's Congressional authorization.

Dr. Cassidy also spearheaded provisions in the House bill that will streamline and accelerate flood protection projects. Reforms in the bill incorporated under his leadership include:

Expedited environmental review by requiring early coordination among relevant federal agencies so that late entry into the process cannot be used as an excuse for delaying environmental reviews. The provision also sets hard deadlines for comment responses to environmental documents that ensure agencies are not delaying the environmental process by failing to respond.
Accelerated feasibility studies and integrated reviews by the Corps of Engineers on key infrastructure and flood protection projects. The provision limits studies to three years and requires District, Division and Headquarters personnel to concurrently conduct reviews of a feasibility study.
Improved project delivery and cost-effectiveness through the implementation of a public-private partnership program, which would allow non-Federal interests to carry out flood risk management, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and coastal harbor and channel and inland harbor navigation projects. The provision directs the Corps to provide the non-Federal sponsor full project management control for construction of the project in accordance with plans approved by the Corps.
Increased capital investments for inland and intercoastal waterways as well as harbor maintenance through the removal of barriers that drain fund balances for critical dredging and waterway management projects.

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