ENROLLED
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 17
BY REPRESENTATIVE HODGES
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To continue the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force, which includes the
Amite River Basin District, and to authorize the task force to study and make
recommendations on actions necessary to complete construction of the Comite River
Diversion Project and mitigate flooding caused by the Comite and Amite rivers.
WHEREAS, the Amite River and its tributary, the Comite River, are major causes
of catastrophic flooding in the Greater Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area and all impacted
downstream communities of East Baton Rouge Parish, Livingston Parish, and Ascension
Parish; and
WHEREAS, during the floods of 1983 and 2016, 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 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.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
continue the Comite River Diversion Canal Project Task Force, which includes the Amite
River Basin District, and authorizes the 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, mitigation
of flooding caused by the Comite River, other required mitigation projects and flood plain
planning throughout the Amite River Basin, and the actions of the watershed initiative
pertaining to the Amite River Basin to maintain transparency to the citizens of the Amite
River Basin.
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 Amite River Basin and
who shall be the chairman of the task force.
(2)Two members shall be members of the House of Representatives appointed
by the speaker of the House whose districts are 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 Amite River Basin and who shall be
the vice chairman of the task force.
(4)Two members shall be members of the Senate appointed by the president of
the Senate whose districts are directly impacted by the Amite River Basin.
(5)One member shall be appointed by the members of the Louisiana
congressional delegation representing the district in which the Amite River Basin is located.
(6)One member shall be the secretary of the Department of Transportation and
Development, or his designee.
(7)One member shall be the executive director of the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority, or his designee.
(8)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.
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(9)One member shall be a representative from the Louisiana Geological Survey.
(10)One member shall be the director of the Department of Public Works of East
Baton Rouge Parish, or his designee.
(11)One member shall be a home builder within the area impacted by the Amite
River Basin District appointed by the president of the Louisiana Home Builders Association.
(12)One member shall be a realtor in the area impacted by the Amite River Basin
District appointed by the Louisiana REALTORS.
(13)One member shall be a representative of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) appointed by the director of FEMA's Louisiana Recovery Office.
(14)One member shall be a landowner in the area impacted by the Amite River
Basin District appointed by the Louisiana Landowners Association, Inc.
(15)One member shall be a representative of the board of commissioners for the
Amite River Basin Drainage and Water Conservation District appointed by the president of
the board.
(16)One member shall be the executive director of the Louisiana State Licensing
Board for Contractors, or his designee.
(17)One member shall be the president of the Louisiana Association for Business
and Industry, or his designee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall submit recommendations to
the Joint Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works no later than December
31, 2022.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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