HLS 19RS-699 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 90
BY REPRESENTATIVE HODGES
TRANSPORTATION: Expands the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To expand the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force to include the Amite River
3 Basin District and to study and make recommendations on actions necessary to
4 complete construction of the Comite River Diversion Project and mitigate flooding
5 caused by the Comite and Amite Rivers.
6 WHEREAS, the Amite River and its tributary, the Comite River, are major causes
7of catastrophic flooding in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area, particularly in the
8northeastern part of East Baton Rouge Parish; and
9 WHEREAS, during the flood of 1983, substantial portions of the parishes of East
10Baton Rouge, Livingston, and Ascension were inundated with flood waters; and
11 WHEREAS, the purpose of the Comite River Diversion Canal Project is to divert
12flood waters from the upper Comite River to the Mississippi River; at its maximum capacity,
13the project will divert twenty thousand cubic feet per second by gravity flow; and
14 WHEREAS, once completed, the Comite River Diversion Canal could divert fifty
15percent of the flood waters from the upper Comite River, which would substantially reduce
16flood stages along the lower Comite and Amite Rivers; and
17 WHEREAS, following the displacement of thousands of residents from the New
18Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina, East Baton Rouge Parish has experienced an explosive
19population growth and is now the most populous parish in the state, making the Comite
20River Diversion Canal Project all the more important and urgently significant.
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HCR NO. 90
1 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
2expand the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force to include the Amite River
3Basin District and to meet and make recommendations to the legislature and the appropriate
4state and federal agencies on actions necessary to complete the construction and maintenance
5of the Comite River Diversion Canal Project, including strategies to comply with mitigation
6requirements and right-of-way acquisitions, and mitigate flooding caused by the Comite and
7Amite Rivers.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be comprised of the
9following members:
10 (1)One member shall be the member of the House of Representatives appointed
11by the speaker of the House whose district is directly impacted by the Comite River
12Diversion Canal Project and who shall be the chairman of the task force.
13 (2)One member shall be the member of the House of Representatives appointed
14by the speaker of the House whose district is directly impacted by the Amite River Basin.
15 (3)One member shall be the member of the Senate appointed by the president
16of the Senate whose district is directly impacted by the Comite River Diversion Canal
17Project and who shall be the vice chairman of the task force.
18 (4)One member shall be the member of the Senate appointed by the president
19of the Senate whose district is directly impacted by the Amite River Basin.
20 (5)One member shall be appointed by the members of the Louisiana
21congressional delegation representing the district in which the Amite River Basin is located.
22 (6)One member shall be the district engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of
23Engineers, New Orleans District, or his designee.
24 (7)One member shall be the secretary of the Department of Transportation and
25Development, or his designee.
26 (8)One member shall be the executive director of the Coastal Protection and
27Restoration Authority, or his designee.
28 (9)One member shall be a former member of the Amite River Basin Drainage
29and Water Conservation District board of commissioners appointed by the chairman of the
30task force.
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HCR NO. 90
1 (10)One member shall be a current member of the Amite River Basin Drainage
2and Water Conservation District board of commissioners appointed by the chairman of the
3task force.
4 (11)One member shall be the director of the Department of Public Works of East
5Baton Rouge Parish, or his designee.
6 (12)One member shall be a home builder within the area impacted by the Amite
7River Basin District appointed by the president of the Louisiana Home Builders Association.
8 (13)One member shall be a realtor in the area impacted by the Amite River Basin
9District appointed by the Louisiana Realtors Association.
10 (14)One member shall be a representative of the Federal Emergency Management
11Agency (FEMA) appointed by the director of FEMA's Louisiana Recovery Office.
12 (15)One member shall be a landowner in the area impacted by the Comite River
13Diversion Canal Project appointed by the Louisiana Landowners Association.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall submit recommendations to
15the Joint Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works no later than December
1631, 2019.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this task force will be staffed by the House
18Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works staff for all meetings of the task
19force.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 90 Original 2019 Regular Session Hodges
Expands the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force to include the Amite River
Basin District and to study and make recommendations to the legislature on actions
necessary to complete the construction of the Comite River Diversion Canal Project and
mitigate flooding caused by the Comite and Amite Rivers.
Provides that the task force submit recommendations to the joint transportation committees
by Dec. 31, 2019. Provides that the task force will be staffed by the staff of the House
Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works. Provides that the task force be
composed 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.
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HCR NO. 90
(2)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 Amite River Basin.
(3)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.
(4)One member shall be the member of the Senate appointed by the president of the
Senate whose district is directly impacted by the Amite River Basin.
(5)One member shall be appointed by the members of the La. congressional delegation
representing the district in which the Amite River Basin is located.
(6)One member shall be the district engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
New Orleans District, or his designee.
(7)One member shall be the secretary of the Dept. of Transportation and Development,
or his designee.
(8)One member shall be the executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority, or his designee.
(9)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.
(10)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.
(11)One member shall be the director of the Dept. of Public Works of East Baton Rouge
Parish, or his designee.
(12)One member shall be a home builder within the area impacted by the Amite River
Basin District appointed by the president of the La. Home Builders Assoc.
(13)One member shall be a realtor in the area impacted by the Amite River Basin District
appointed by the La. Realtors Assoc.
(14)One member shall be a representative of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) appointed by the director of FEMA's La. Recovery Office.
(15)One member shall be a landowner in the area impacted by the Comite River
Diversion Canal Project appointed by the La. Landowners Assoc.
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