November 2, 2007
Contact: Robin Winchell (202) 225-4031
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA), made the following
statement today after President Bush vetoed the Water Resources Development Act
of 2007 (WRDA), which had recently passed both Houses of Congress with
overwhelming bipartisan support. The compromise legislation includes
authorization for over $3 billion in projects for south Louisiana, including
full authorization for the Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane and storm protection
system, $1.9 billion for a comprehensive federal coastal restoration plan,
closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, and channel deepening at the Port
of Iberia. The bill also authorizes numerous other water resource
projects throughout the country.
Rep. Melancon made the following statement following the
President's veto:
"The President decided today that
the value of the vital needs authorized by this WRDA bill - including over $3
billion in critical hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects for
south Louisiana
- did not outweigh the portions of the bill he disapproved of.
"Every day WRDA is delayed is
another day that Louisianians in Terrebonne and Lafourche remain unprotected
from storms because we haven't broken ground on Morganza. Every year that
we don't pass a WRDA bill is another year that Louisiana's coastal wetlands
wash away even further because we haven't begun work on the comprehensive
coastal restoration plan being developed by the state and the Corps. And
every hurricane season that goes by without WRDA becoming law is another season
that the citizens of St. Bernard and New
Orleans remain more vulnerable to deadly storm surges
because the MRGO hasn't been closed. We can't wait any longer.
"I have assurances from my
leadership in the House that Congress will not make the people of south Louisiana to wait any
longer. We will be voting to override the President's veto as soon as we
get back in session next week, and I expect the Senate will follow suit.
Congress has come up short in finishing a WRDA bill for seven years now, but
rest assured, we are so close that we won't be stopped now. Louisiana's hurricane
protection and coastal restoration needs must not be pushed aside any longer,
and I will do everything in my power to make sure WRDA becomes law despite the
President's veto."
Included in the WRDA bill the President vetoed today is full
authorization for the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane and Storm
Protection System. This 64-mile system of levees, locks and floodgates
will provide hurricane and flood protection to about 120,000 people and 1,700
square miles in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes who currently have no
hurricane protection. Congressman Melancon has made Morganza to the Gulf
one of his top priorities in Congress, and has secured assurances from his
leadership that this vital project would not be removed from WRDA bill.
WRDA also authorizes $90 million to bring the federal levees
in the Lafourche Parish Levee District up to 100-year protection, which will
offer better protection to residents in the parish and make their homes
eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program.
Also, WRDA authorizes up to $100 million to consolidate the
scattered levees in lower Jefferson Parish into a comprehensive hurricane
protection system for the town of Lafitte.
In addition, WRDA authorizes approximately $1.9 billion for
the Corps of Engineers to carry out the comprehensive program for the
restoration of the Louisiana Coastal Area. This program will help restore
populated and coastal areas significantly impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, and will help in preventing future damage from hurricanes and storm
surge, by slowing the continuing land loss, and replenishing the coastal
marshes of southern Louisiana. The bill also authorizes the Corps to
integrate into this comprehensive program the findings of a current Corps study
for "category 5" protection for coastal Louisiana.
Finally, WRDA deauthorizes and calls for the physical
closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet ("MR-GO"), the 76-mile ship
channel through St. Bernard Parish that has been dubbed the "hurricane
highway." Rep. Melancon has long advocated in Congress for the complete
closure of MR-GO because of the environmental degradation it has caused in St.
Bernard Parish and the threat it poses to the parish's residents. Shortly after
the Katrina, Rep. Melancon worked in Congress to pass legislation to stop any
further dredging of the MRGO to ensure that the channel could begin to silt in
while the Corps came up with a plan for the MRGO's long-term future.
Congress is supposed to pass a new WRDA bill every two
years. However, no new WRDA bills have been signed into law since 2000
because the House and Senate have repeatedly been unable to reach a compromise
on the legislation since then. As a result, many vital projects in south Louisiana have been
stalled, awaiting authorization from Congress.
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