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Louisiana to receive $2.6 Billion in Army Corps of Engineers Funding for Louisiana projects

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Posted at 3:46 PM, Jan 19, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-19 16:46:13-05

The state will receive $2.6 billion in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (Supplemental Disaster Relief).

This funding, the Governor's Office says, will support coastal, water management, and hurricane risk reduction projects throughout south Louisiana.

The supplemental disaster relief bill provides resources for Louisiana to recover further from Hurricane Ida. Through the IIJA, Congress appropriated funds to USACE to increase coastal resilience by funding flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects.

The supplemental disaster relief bill includes over $2 billion in funding for coastal and other flood protection projects, including:

  • $783 million for New Orleans to Venice Hurricane Protection Project
  • $453 million for West Shore Lake Pontchartrain
  • $163 million for Atchafalaya Basin
  • $128 million for Comite River Diversion
  • $94.3 million for Southeast Louisiana
  • $8 million for Upper Barataria Basin
  • $3.8 million for Grand Isle and Vicinity
  • $3.5 million for Bayou Segnette Waterway
  • $3 million for Tangipahoa Parish

The IIJA includes over $643 million in funding for 21 Louisiana coastal and water management projects, including:

  • $378.5 million for Morganza to the Gulf
  • $125 million for Southwest Coastal
  • $52.9 million for Atchafalaya Basin
  • $23.2 million for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

Additionally, USACE dedicated a cumulative $848 million across states bordering the Lower Mississippi River to reinforce levees and make improvements to the channel. Louisiana’s economy relies on a well-maintained Mississippi River.

The IIJA contains multiple funding sources that could be leveraged by Louisiana to protect communities, reduce risk from floods and storms, and restore ecosystems, including:

  • $3.5 billion for FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance
  • $1 billion for FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
  • $500 million for FEMA to implement the STORM Act
  • $492 million to NOAA’s National Coastal Resilience Fund, in partnership with NFWF
  • $491 million to NOAA’s Community Based Restoration Program
  • $207 million to NOAA for the Coastal Zone Management Program
  • $400 million to Department of Interior for ecosystem restoration
  • $53 million for EPA’s Lake Pontchartrain Geographic Program
  • $53 million for EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Geographic Program

Over $690 million in USACE supplemental disaster relief Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) funds have yet to be allocated. Eligible projects include Grand Isle and Vicinity, Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity, West Bank and Vicinity, and New Orleans to Venice.

Additional funding will be announced upon completion of the USACE Project Information Report that will detail necessary improvements.

To review the full list of funded projects, click here.
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