Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom.

House Takes A Look At Comite River Diversion

Wallis Watkins

Last week, a plan to try and fund the Comite River Diversion project out of the 2016 flood recovery money created a debate on the House floor. The plan was brought by Denham Springs Representative Valerie Hodges. 

“I just think it’s reckless to give people money to rebuild their homes and not fix the problem,” she explained.

The twelve mile long canal running between Baker and Zachary would divert high waters from the Comite River to the Mississippi River, mitigating the risk of flooding.

Baton Rouge Representative Pat Smith said while the project is important, it shouldn’t be funded by the state’s $1.6 billion in recovery funds.

“There are more than 4,000 people who will be affected by this $190 million coming from this money coming from HUD," she said.

Representative Sam Jones of Franklin warned making a change to the plan would only further delay the process of getting money to flooded homeowners.

“If you go back and change the one that HUD has just approved a couple of weeks ago," he cautioned, "then it has to go back through that cycle and will take months for them to go through it.”

In 2016, 56 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes were declared disasters. The $1.6 billion is meant to assist all parishes in recovery efforts.

Representatives began naming the areas in their districts where flooding persists, like Bundick Lake in DeRidder and Raccoon Bayou in Monroe.

Representative Katrina Jackson explained "we all have projects in our districts that if they’re not fixed and a record rain comes again, we’re all going to flood.”

She says these projects should be funded, but not from this pot of money.

“I think a better solution," she said, "is for us to vote to raise some revenue so the state can fund some of these capital outlay projects.”

Without objection, the House rejected funding the canal using the state's flood recovery dollars.

House Ways and Means Committee will continue work on tax reform bills Monday.