ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 51
BY REPRESENTATIVE HODGES AND SENATORS WHI TE AND ERDEY
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To create the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force to study and make
recommendations on actions necessary to complete the construction of the Comite
River Diversion Project.
WHEREAS, the Amite River and its tributary, the Comite River, are major causes
of catastrophic flooding in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area, particularly in the
northeastern part of East Baton Rouge Parish; and
WHEREAS, during the flood of 1983, substantial portions of the parishes of East
Baton Rouge, Livingston, and Ascension were inundated with flood waters; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Comite River Diversion Canal Project is to divert
flood waters from the upper Comite River to the Mississippi River; at its maximum capacity,
the project will divert twenty thousand cubic feet per second by gravity flow; and
WHEREAS, once completed, the Comite River Diversion Canal could divert fifty
percent of the flood waters from the upper Comite River, which would substantially reduce
flood stages along the lower Comite and Amite Rivers; and
WHEREAS, following the displacement of thousands of residents from the New
Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina, East Baton Rouge Parish has experienced an explosive
population growth and is now the most populous parish in the state, making the Comite
River Diversion Canal Project all the more important and urgently significant.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
establish the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force to meet and make
recommendations to the legislature and the appropriate state and federal agencies on actions
necessary to complete the construction and maintenance of the Comite River Diversion
Canal Project, including strategies to comply with mitigation requirements and right-of-way
acquisitions. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 51
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be comprised of the
following members:
(1)One member shall be the member of the House of Representatives appointed
by the speaker of the House whose district is directly impacted by the Comite River
Diversion Canal Project and who shall be the chairman of the task force.
(2)One member shall be the member of the Senate appointed by the president
of the Senate whose district is directly impacted by the Comite River Diversion Canal
Project and who shall be the vice chairman of the task force.
(3)One member shall be appointed by the members of the Louisiana
congressional delegation representing the district in which the Comite River Diversion Canal
Project is located.
(4)One member shall be the district engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, New Orleans District, or his designee.
(5)One member shall be the secretary of the Department of Transportation and
Development, or his designee.
(6)One member shall be the executive director of the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority, or his designee.
(7)One member shall be a former member of the Amite River Basin Drainage
and Water Conservation District board of commissioners appointed by the chairman of the
task force.
(8)One member shall be a current member of the Amite River Basin Drainage
and Water Conservation District board of commissioners appointed by the chairman of the
task force.
(9)One member shall be the director of the Department of Public Works of East
Baton Rouge Parish, or his designee.
(10)One member shall be a home builder within the area impacted by the Comite
River Diversion Canal Project appointed by the president of the Louisiana Home Builders
Association.
(11)One member shall be a realtor in the area impacted by the Comite River
Diversion Canal Project appointed by the Louisiana Realtors Association. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 51
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(12)One member shall be a representative of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) appointed by the director of FEMA's Louisiana Recovery Office.
(13)One member shall be a landowner in the area impacted by the Comite River
Diversion Canal Project appointed by the Louisiana Landowners Association.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall submit recommendations to
the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the Senate
Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works no later than January 15, 2015.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this task force will be staffed by the House
Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works staff for all meetings of the task
force.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE