Jindal gives $10M for Morganza

Gov. Bobby Jindal personally delivered the announcement Monday that $10 million in state capital outlay funds has been designated, through legislation filed earlier in the day, for use in construction of the Morganza-to-the- Gulf system.

A crowded meeting room at the Bayou Terrebonne Wildlife Museum in Houma welcomed the news as Jindal echoed what local officials have said, that they are tired of waiting on the federal government to act when it comes to building a flood and hurricane protection system.

The $10 million capital outlay allocation includes $6.33 million in Priority 2 finding and $3.67 million in Priority 5 funding. Project features to be addressed in this package include construction of a floodgate on Bayou Little Caillou.

“For many years we have told the federal government that the Terrebonne-Lafourche region deserves the same treatment as New Orleans and other areas of our state,” Jindal said. “This region also deserves at least a 100-year protection system.”

Jindal told those in attendance that the Houma Navigation Canal is similar to the Mississippi River Gulf outlet and suggested there is no reason the Terrebonne and Lafourche area should have to deal with delays.

“The federal government has delayed this project for 20 years,” Jindal said. “The federal government has spent tens of millions of dollars on studies for flood and hurricane protection, and even more money in FEMA claims after the fact. After disasters occurred. They have repeatedly issued report after report saying the project should be built and it is in the interest of all our taxpayers to do so.”

Jindal noted that the Morganza project had been authorized by the U.S. Congress three times in the past 10 years. “This is the most authorized project they ever built,” he said. “Yet, the [U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers has not built a single foot of the Morganza project.”

Echoing what local leaders have said, the governor told those in attendance that he, like the people of southern Louisiana, is tired of lingering for the federal government to make another decision.

“We are not waiting for federal action to protect our coast, our community and our people,” Jindal said.

State and local investments in the Morganza hurricane and flood protection system total $250 million to date. Since January 2008, more than $125 million of state and locally funded projects have been built or are currently under construction. This includes a $35 million nine-mile long levee, $15 million for the Bush Canal floodgate, $11.5 million for the Placid Canal floodgate, $15 million for environmental mitigation, and $50 million for the Houma Navigational Canal floodgate structures.

“That’s good news,” Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District Board Chairman Tony Alford said in response to the designated funds. “Hopefully, there will be more to follow. That is good news especially in a time when everything is a little depressed. It will help us complete the project.”

“Anytime the governor comes in and gives money to Morganza to the Gulf it is a great day,” said state Rep. Gordon Dove. “We’ve got the Houma Navigational Canal floodgate under construction. We’ve got the Grand Caillou floodgate that they are fixing to let to construction. We’ve got levees. We got everything going on. We’re moving faster than we ever imagined.”

Dove said that approximately 70 percent of the overall southern reaches are currently under construction.

State Sen. Norby Chabert said that $10 million is a good start, but that the project could have been completed had the federal government not caused delays. “We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “I commend the governor on his commitment to the coast [and] his commitment to this particular project. I look forward to convincing my colleagues in the Legislature that this is a worthy project that they see funded.

“The feds have known about this project for over 20 years and we told them time and time again that the low lying areas of this parish need to be protected and the only way to do that is with a levee system of this magnitude.”

“The very first priority of every resident of Terrebonne Parish is hurricane protection,” added Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet. “To add an additional $10 million to our Morganza project, all of Terrebonne is happy to hear.”

This year alone, the state is set to issue $55 million in construction contracts for the Bayou Grand Caillou floodgate and five miles of levee.

“It has been 17 years since any new floodgate has been built in southern Terrebonne,” Jindal said. “Over $180 million of Morganza contracts will be completed or under construction by January 2012. This is all state and local funding with no federal construction funds.”

Jindal credited the people of Terrebonne and Lafourche parish for taking action toward their own protection rather than waiting for the federal government to act.

“Even during tight budget times we’ve got to make it a priority to protect our property and our people,” Jindal said. “It is unusual [to have] local dollars and state dollars all being combined together [and] saying, ‘We’re not going to wait for the federal government.’ We don’t have time on our side.”

Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District Executive Director Reggie Dupre said that in addition to the $10 million announcement, the Levee District has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a $9.3 million job to construct barges for the Houma Navigational Canal floodgate complex.

“The Terrebonne Parish levee board in all their efforts recognizes their important work and their efforts to make these contracts happen,” Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph said. “What protects Terrebonne protects Lafourche as well.”

“We made a decision along with the state, that we weren’t going to wait around anymore,” Alford said. “We’ve waited long enough.”

“Everybody in this region knows that coastal protection is a top priority,” Jindal said. “What’s great about the locals is everybody in the Bayou region is working together. People here, they live this every day and know how important this is.”