November 6, 2007
Contact: Robin Winchell (202) 225-4031
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) sent a letter to his
colleagues in the House of Representatives today urging them to continue their
support for south Louisiana and vote to override the President's veto of the
Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA). WRDA had previously
passed both Houses of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, securing a
vote of 381-40 in the House and 81-12 in the Senate. The House is
scheduled to vote on overriding the President's veto later today, which will
require the support of a two-thirds majority of all Members voting in order to
be successful (287 "yea" votes if all Members are present and voting).
In his letter, Rep. Melancon wrote, "Today I ask you to
join me for one of the most important votes tied to the successful recovery in Louisiana. The
Water Resources and Development Act contains several critical authorizations
for South Louisiana, including the closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet
(dubbed the ‘Hurricane Highway' after Katrina) which funneled deadly flood
waters into the heart of eastern New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, destroying
thousands of homes and devastating these communities."
Rep. Melancon continued, "Also authorized in WRDA is the
comprehensive hurricane protection system known as Morganza to the Gulf, a
64-mile system of levees, locks and floodgates planned for south Louisiana.
Morganza would offer hurricane protection to about 120,000 people in south Louisiana who currently
have no defense against storms and are like sitting ducks in the path of the
next killer hurricane."
Finally, Rep. Melancon noted, "In addition to these vital
hurricane protection projects, WRDA also includes a comprehensive coastal
restoration plan that will authorize projects to rebuild the protective
wetlands along Louisiana's
coast. When I travel across south Louisiana,
I see with my own eyes how our rich marshes and wetlands are
disappearing. Louisiana
loses a football field-sized piece of land to the sea every 35 minutes.
During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we lost over 200 square miles of
coastline. Our state is literally washing away into the Gulf
of Mexico.... The [Louisiana Coastal Area plan] is a responsible
plan that ensures the marshes and wetlands that buffer our coast from storms
are protected, as well as the infrastructure that provides for over 20% of the
nation's oil and gas production and the habitat for 30% of the seafood
consumed in the United States."
A fully copy of the letter is at the end of this release.
Included in the WRDA bill the President vetoed 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 South Lafourche 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.
# # #
Congress
of the United States
House
of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Please
Continue to Support Hurricane Protection for South
Louisiana
November 6, 2007
Dear Colleagues,
In the two years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck
the Gulf Coast I have been honored to serve with
members that have responded so promptly and compassionately to the needs of my
state and its neighbors.
Today I ask you to join me for one of the most important
votes tied to the successful recovery in Louisiana.
The Water Resources and Development Act contains several critical
authorizations for South Louisiana, including the closure of the Mississippi
River-Gulf Outlet (dubbed the "Hurricane Highway" after Katrina) which funneled
deadly flood waters into the heart of eastern New Orleans and St. Bernard
Parish, destroying thousands of homes and devastating these communities.
While funding to close the MR-GO has already been appropriated by Congress,
Louisiana is still waiting for the official de-authorization contained in WRDA
to begin work on closing this residential and environmental menace and further
protect them from another Katrina.
Also authorized in WRDA is the comprehensive hurricane
protection system known as Morganza to the Gulf, a 64-mile system of levees,
locks and floodgates planned for south Louisiana.
Morganza would offer hurricane protection to about 120,000 people in south Louisiana who currently
have no defense against storms and are like sitting ducks in the path of the
next killer hurricane. This hurricane protection system is so critical;
the local communities have been taxing themselves for years to try to build
parts of the levee system on their own. But they need the federal
government to be a partner in this project, and have anxiously followed the
progress of WRDA for years, hoping for full authorization for
Morganza.
In addition to these vital hurricane protection projects,
WRDA also includes a comprehensive coastal restoration plan that will authorize
projects to rebuild the protective wetlands along Louisiana's coast. When I travel
across south Louisiana,
I see with my own eyes how our rich marshes and wetlands are
disappearing. Louisiana
loses a football field-sized piece of land to the sea every 35 minutes.
During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we lost over 200 square miles of
coastline. Our state is literally washing away into the Gulf
of Mexico. The Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) restoration and
protection projects authorized by WRDA are part of a comprehensive plan that
uses peer review to ensure that the latest engineering and technology be
used. LCA is a responsible plan that ensures the marshes and wetlands
that buffer our coast from storms are protected, as well as the infrastructure
that provides for over 20% of the nation's oil and gas production and the
habitat for 30% of the seafood consumed in the United States.
WRDA is the result of very dedicated work and painstaking
compromise from the members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. I would like
to extend my appreciation for their steadfast dedication to this legislation
and humbly request that all my colleagues support the successful recovery of Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast
by voting to override the President's veto and passing WRDA with an
overwhelming bi-partisan vote.
Sincerely,
Charlie Melancon
Member of Congress
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