Senate committee approves Amite River Basin Commission 2025 plan amid questions on Corps projects and funding

The Louisiana Senate Committee on Transportation approved the Amite River Basin Commission’s 2025 annual plan without objection after questions from senators about project timelines and funding.

The commission’s presenter described several ongoing projects and funding sources, saying the Comite River diversion canal is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project and “probably has about 3 more years before they complete that project.” The presenter said the commission is using roughly $100 million to develop a pump system in the lower Amite basin and pursuing sediment removal and levee connections in multiple parishes. “That project was essentially conceived out of the record disaster event that occurred in 1983, so let's call that a 1983 solution,” the presenter said.

Senator Zane Abraham moved to approve the annual plan; the chairman asked for objections and, hearing none, declared the plan approved. Committee members pressed the presenter on which projects are currently under construction and on how federal, parish and commission roles and funding intersect. The presenter said the commission is a project partner, not the primary owner, on some large works: “We are a signatory, we are a project partner with the Corps of Engineers,” and noted the Balanced Budget Act of 2018 had provided full federal funding for the Comite project.

During questioning, the presenter described several illustrative cost figures included in the plan as not the commission’s direct budget: the Comite-related total figure was listed at $970 million and other line items included a Lower Amite River entry of $50 million and Bayou Manchac amounts that were shown as illustrative rather than commission-held funds. The presenter said the commission manages roughly $100 million of approximately $400 million allocated through the Louisiana Watershed Initiative for Region 9/Amite River Basin and that some parish partners were executing contracts directly because they had greater capacity to do so.

Senators also raised localized flood concerns, including the Interstate 12 barrier at Denham Springs. When asked about the interstate acting as a wall, the presenter said the commission’s master plan targets 100-year storm events and that “if we can drain the system more efficiently... then I‑12 becomes much less a problem.” The presenter noted FEMA and the Federal Highway Administration are working on related roadway protections.

The committee approved the plan by voice consensus after Senator Abraham made the motion. The meeting record shows no roll-call tally; the chairman announced approval after asking if there were objections.

The plan will proceed with the commission and its parish partners coordinating project delivery and execution.