2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 172
BY SENATORS WHITE AND HEWITT
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Department of Transportation and Development, in consultation
with other state agencies, to study construction or maintenance impacts, including
channelization, dredging, and clearing and snagging activities, upon river basins and
water transmission, and provide recommendations to establish, implement, and
enforce floodplain management plans for each watershed in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, during the last eighteen months the state of Louisiana and its citizens
have experienced numerous major flooding events; and
WHEREAS, on February 5, 2016, President Obama declared a state of emergency
in seven Louisiana parishes affected by damage from thunderstorms and flooding from the
Mississippi River; and
WHEREAS, that declaration provided federal funds to supplement the state and local
response efforts in the areas affected by flooding between December 28, 2015, through
February 1, 2016; and
WHEREAS, on March 9, 2016, Governor Edwards declared a state of emergency in
response to a strong upper level storm that brought heavy rainfall, flash flooding, river
flooding, and damaging winds; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2016, President Obama declared a major disaster existed
in Louisiana and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the
area affected by severe storms and flooding that began on March 8, 2016; and
WHEREAS, thirty-seven parishes were listed under the federal major disaster
declaration; and
WHEREAS, in the March flooding event, more than twenty-one thousand
households had verified losses according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) and another six thousand one hundred forty-three structures flooded, including
businesses, churches, and schools; and
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WHEREAS, in August 2016, Louisiana experienced the worst natural disaster in the
country since Hurricane Sandy as a slow moving system produced up to 20 inches of rainfall
in some areas of the state, providing more than seven trillion gallons of new surface
water; and
WHEREAS, rivers rose rapidly and inundated homes, roads, and businesses within
hours, and more than a half dozen river gauges set new record highs, in some cases by as
much as six feet; and
WHEREAS, in the August flooding event, more than ninety-one thousand
households had verified losses according to FEMA; and
WHEREAS, the March and August flooding events combined to impact one hundred
ninety-three thousand families across fifty-six of the sixty-four parishes; and
WHEREAS, when the state and political subdivisions are contemplating a
construction or maintenance project that may impact a waterway, the entities must consider
the flooding impacts the project may have on the waterway, other local political
subdivisions, or other waterways, both upstream and downstream; and
WHEREAS, existing practices across varying levels of government do not provide
for comprehensive floodplain management that is necessary to properly address drainage
issues as land is developed; and
WHEREAS, one of the missions of the Department of Transportation and
Development is to manage the water resources of the state and to implement projects related
to statewide flood control.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request the Department of Transportation and Development, in
consultation with other state agencies, to study construction or maintenance impacts,
including channelization, dredging, and clearing and snagging activities, upon river basins
and water transmission, and provide recommendations to establish, implement, and enforce
floodplain management plans for each watershed in Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation and
Development (DOTD) shall seek input and advice from the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
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Preparedness, the office of community development within the division of administration,
the Water Institute of the Gulf, local political subdivisions, educational institutions, and
nonprofit organizations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DOTD, in collaboration with the referenced
entities, shall report their initial findings and recommendations to the senate and house
committees on natural resources and the senate and house committees on transportation,
highways and public works not later than June 1, 2018, and the report shall contain, at a
minimum, recommendations for any statutory or regulatory changes and any fiscal
considerations. The final report shall be submitted to the committees not later than
February 1, 2019.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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