SSHB686 3941 5382
HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS
HB 686 2022 Regular Session Mincey
WATERWAYS: Provides relative to management of the Amite River Basin
Synopsis of Senate Amendments
1.Adds secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD)
or designee to the board of commissioners.
2.Provides that the board may request technical assistance from the DOTD.
3.Provides that the master and annual watershed management plans are subject
to annual approval of both Senate and House Committees on Transportation,
Highways and Public Works.
4.Requires that parish hazard mitigation plans prioritize reduction of flood risk
and flood insurance premiums and explain how to participate in or maximize
participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community
Rating System or similar programs.
5.Adds effective date upon governor's signature.
6.Provides that the Pontchartrain Levee District has primary jurisdiction within
the areas of the district that are concurrent with the limits of the Amite River
Basin Drainage and Water Conservation District.
7.Provides that the the Amite River Basin Drainage and Water Conservation
District cannot initiate any project or program within the limits of the
Pontchartrain Levee District without consulting with and receiving approval
from the board of commissioners of the Pontchartrain Levee District.
8.Removes the up to three mills taxing limitation applicable to the district
drainage tax.
9.Makes technical changes.
Digest of Bill as Finally Passed by Senate
Present law establishes the geographical bounds of the district. Proposed law retains present
law and provides that the district will also be comprised of all portions of the geographical
area within the watershed limits of the Amite River and Tributaries Basin located in those
parts of Iberville, Ascension, and St. James parishes south of La. Hwy. 61 and not
particularly described in present law.
Proposed law further provides that by Jan. 1, 2023, the Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority (CPRA) in consultation with the office of state lands must submit to the legislature
a detailed legal description of the Amite River and Tributaries Basin.
Present law provides that the management and control of the Amite River Basin Drainage
and Water Conservation District is vested in a board of commissioners for the district.
Further provides for the board's authority to establish adequate drainage, flood control, and
water resources development to include but not be limited to construction of reservoirs,
diversion canals, gravity and pumped drainage systems, and other flood control works.
Proposed law retains present law and adds a requirement that the board comprehensively
manage the district as a single system.
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Present law provides for a 13 person commission. Proposed law increases the number of
commissioners from 13 to 16. Present law provides that one member from the district is
appointed by the governor and serves at large. Proposed law provides that one member be
the executive director of the CPRA, or his designee, one member be the secretary of the
Dept. of Transportation and Development (DOTD), or his designee, and one member be the
executive director of the Pontchartrain Levee District Board of Commissioners, or his
designee, all to serve in nonvoting advisory roles. Proposed law provides that six members
be appointed by the governor to serve at large. Further provides that commissioners at large
will serve four year terms staggered with three positions expiring every two years; initial
terms are two years for three commissioners and four years for three commissioners; be
subject to senate confirmation from nominations submitted by the representatives and
senators whose districts include any portion of the district. Specifies that nominees are
encouraged to but need not reside in the district or any particular parish within it. Specifies
that each legislator within the district may nominate up to two persons meeting the
qualification requirements per vacant position. Specifies that if no nominees meeting the
qualification requirements are submitted for a seat, the governor may choose his own.
Further provides that all six commissioners at large must have at least seven years of
professional experience in their discipline, of which at least four must be engineers, project
managers, certified floodplain managers, or professionals in a drainage-related field such as
geotechnical, hydrological, or environmental science. Specifies that parish commissioner
designees are encouraged to be, but need not be, professionals; however, priority will be
given to nominees that reside in the district or any parish within it.
Proposed law requires the board to post agendas for all meetings on its website at least
twenty four hours prior to meetings and to stream all district meetings live on the internet.
Present law requires the DOTD to provide advice and technical assistance to the board.
Proposed law retains present law and adds that the board also may request advice and
technical assistance from the CPRA and the Pontchartrain Levee District and may request
technical assistance from the DOTD on issues other than those required under present law.
Present law provides for the general powers and duties of the board. Proposed law retains
present law and adds a requirement that prior to Jan. 1, 2026, the board must promulgate
regulations for watershed management within the district, insofar as they affect watershed
management, that address the following:
(1)Planning.
(2)Permitting.
(3)Selection of and performing projects and programs.
(4)Resolution of conflicts among agencies.
(5)Use of best available science.
(6)Outreach to the public and agencies.
(7)Coordination with state agencies and political subdivisions regarding watershed
management.
(8)Identifying, seeking, receiving, and expending federal and other funding for planning
and projects.
(9)Providing assistance to political subdivisions in planning, designing, and constructing
projects, and identifying and obtaining funding.
(10)Agreements with public and private entities to identify, seek, receive, and expend
funds.
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(11)Maintaining projects and programs once complete.
(12)Providing an appeal process.
(13)Defining qualifications for staff and contractors.
(14)Creating and managing a wetland mitigation bank.
Present law grants the board authority to construct and maintain drainage works of all types
either in cooperation with one or more parishes, municipalities, drainage districts, or other
special districts within its territorial jurisdiction or upon its own undertaking. Proposed law
retains present law and adds a requirement that projects receive approval of two thirds of the
total voting membership. Further adds that all decisions, including technical aspects of
projects, including planning and permitting decisions, require approval by a simple majority
of the total voting membership.
Proposed law requires the board to develop and implement a plan to manage all waterways
in the district in relation to matters impacting watershed management in the district. Further
requires the board to place a heavy focus and constant emphasis on plans that include project
inventories, implementation plans, and strategies to maximize the use of innovative funding
strategies such as public private partnerships, pursuit of grant funding, capital outlay
requests, and millage initiatives to the extent necessary to timely fund and implement the
board's planned projects and programs.
Proposed law requires the board to develop a master plan for comprehensive drainage, flood
control, and water resource management with the district, which shall address both long- and
short-term watershed management, which includes lists of projects, costs, and selection
criteria, and is subject to annual approval of both the Senate and House Committees on
Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
Proposed law requires the board to develop annual plans and report annually to the parish
presidents and parish governing authorities representing the parishes making up the district,
the legislature, and a committee of representatives and senators whose districts include any
portion of the Amite River Basin. Further provides that annual plans are subject to approval
of both the Senate and House Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
Proposed law requires each parish within the district to submit a hazard mitigation plan by
Jan. 1, 2023, and thereafter to submit a hazard mitigation plan to the board every five years.
Further requires each parish within the district to cooperate with the board to ensure that the
impacts of drainage, flood control, and water resource management are considered in the
development of each hazard mitigation plan. Further requires that parish mitigation plans
prioritize reduction of flood risk and flood insurance premiums and explain how to
participate in or maximize participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Community Rating System or similar programs. Further requires the board to participate and
assist in the development of each parish hazard mitigation plan within the district.
Proposed law requires the board to consider to what extent matters regarding an agreement
with the state of Mississippi regarding watershed management and how it may be beneficial
to management of the basin in La., and authorizes them to contract with the state of
Mississippi for such purposes including for doing projects, subject to approval by the
governor.
Present law provides for voting on taxes levied by the board to be by individual parish. Also,
specifies that the tax not exceed three mills on the dollar of its assessed valuation. Proposed
law provides for voting on such taxes by everyone in the district as a whole and removes the
up to three mills taxing limitation.
Proposed law allows parishes, municipalities, drainage districts, levee districts, and other
political subdivisions in the district to transfer or donate funds to the board, and further
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allows the board to accept such funds.
Proposed law prohibits the board from expending or obligating unrestricted funds, except
funds designated for operational costs or to meet existing contractual obligations, until Jan.
1st following enactment of this Act.
Proposed law provides that the Pontchartrain Levee District has primary jurisdiction within
the areas of the district that are concurrent with the limits of the Amite River Basin Drainage
and Water Conservation District. Further provides that the Amite River Basin Drainage and
Water Conservation District cannot initiate any project or program within the limits of the
Pontchartrain Levee District without consulting with and receiving approval from the board
of commissioners of the Pontchartrain Levee District.
(Amends R.S. 38:3302, 3303, 3305, 3306(A) and (C), 3307(C), and 3309; Adds R.S.
38:3301(C), 3304(C)(3), 3306(G), (H), (I), (J), (K), (L), and (M) and 3307(E))
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