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Amite River Basin Commission adopts master plan recommendations, adds St. James projects
Summary
The Amite River Basin Commission approved a set of master-plan recommendations and directed the contracting team to finalize the plan, adding St. James projects to the list. Commissioners debated sequencing and downstream impacts before the vote.
The Amite River Basin Commission on March 13 approved master-plan recommendations developed by Dewberry, adding projects in St. James Parish to the planning list after a motion and roll-call vote.
The vote authorizing the master-plan recommendations as amended came during the commission’s meeting after a multi-hour review of a draft plan produced by Dewberry and discussions led by ARBC staff and the Water Institute of the Gulf.
Commissioners said the approved list is a conceptual, basinwide “menu” of projects that will inform future funding and engineering work but does not itself authorize construction or commit the commission to a specific project timeline. Paul Sawyer, ARBC executive director, said the master plan “is a vision of an end state of what ARBC can do project wise and initiative wise to improve flood risk, lower flood risk and improve flood protection in the Amite River Basin.” He urged commissioners to submit any final edits quickly so the contracting team can deliver a final draft.
Dewberry consultant Seth Bradley said the team will deliver a final draft on Friday, March 14, and that project owners will be contacted to verify details and numbers in the plan’s tables. Bradley confirmed to the commission that St. James projects are included in the master plan and that the team would ensure any lists or exhibits provided to commissioners reflect that inclusion.
Garvin Pittman of the Water Institute of the Gulf reported the region’s coordination work and said the institute has been working with ARBC and Dewberry on biweekly calls and invoice reviews. Pittman said Dewberry invoices for October and November were submitted to and paid by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) on March 5; a December invoice remained under review pending backup documentation.
ARBC legal counsel Larry Bankston reported the commission had executed an extension of its intergovernmental agreement with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority that will run through June 2026. Bankston said that extension covers funds related to work on the master plan.
Commissioners debated sequencing — the order in which conceptual projects would be implemented — and the need to avoid projects that shift flood risk downstream. Several commissioners emphasized that conceptual inclusion in the plan does not replace project-level engineering or environmental review. Commissioner Harrell and others asked that sequencing and any required downstream mitigations be clearly documented as the plan moves from concept toward project development.
The formal motion to ensure St. James projects were included was made by Commissioner Quintin Law and seconded by Commissioner Bailey. The clerk conducted a roll-call vote; the commissioners present recorded affirmative votes and the motion passed. Later, a separate motion to reconsider the approval failed on a subsequent roll call.
A member of the public, Cindy O’Neil of Livingston Parish, asked how the timing of model deliveries affected project selection, noting that some watershed model products were received late in the planning process and asking whether that would affect the ability to meet LWI and OCD deadlines. Commissioners and staff responded that model outputs and continuing edits would be incorporated and that project sequencing and implementation will require additional study and coordination with the Office of Community Development (OCD) and funders.
Sauyer and the Dewberry team said the “all-projects” model run will estimate flood-risk reductions if the conceptual projects are implemented together and will provide outputs such as structures removed from the floodplain and annualized dollar reductions in flood risk.
The commission also heard that the Region 9 LWI coordinator activities continue, with upcoming in-person meetings arranged with OCD and Arcadis.
The commission chair closed the item by urging members to review the final draft promptly so the plan can be finalized and returned to the commission for any further action.
