| July 29, 2005 - (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter announced today that the Senate passed the final conference report to the Interior Appropriations Bill, which included nearly $1.7 million in federal funding for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program. The bill is now headed to the president for his signature. “The Senate recognizes the importance of Lake Pontchartrain to Louisiana and to our nation,” Vitter said. “This federal funding for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program will advance efforts to cleanup the lake, bringing us closer to the day the lake will be fully restored.” As a freshman in Congress, Vitter authored and passed into law the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program, which created a partnership between the federal government and local stakeholders to further efforts to clean up the lake. Through this program Vitter has steered nearly $20 million to Louisiana for cleanup efforts in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Lake Pontchartrain is the second largest lake in the United States after the Great Lakes and is surrounded by 1.5 million residents, making it the most populated area in the state of Louisiana. The 16 parishes in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin are Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington. |
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