WRDA 2024 authorizes $5.9 billion Saint Tammany Parish flood risk reduction project; CPRA to pursue design and appropriations

CPRA staff told the authority’s January 2025 meeting that the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 authorized a large Saint Tammany Parish flood risk reduction and coastal storm risk management program with an authorization figure cited in meeting materials as approximately $5.9 billion.

Glenn (executive director, CPRA) described the project as multi-feature and “multifaceted,” containing structural components (levees and flood walls) and nonstructural measures (home elevations). Presentation materials and board discussion listed the project’s features as protecting roughly 26,000 structures, an 18.5‑mile levee and flood‑wall system, more than 5,500 home elevations and about 827 nonresidential structures identified for elevations or modifications. CPRA staff said the WRDA authorization allows the project to move from feasibility and planning to engineering and design and, eventually, construction when federal appropriations and Corps project agreements are in place.

CPRA said next steps will include negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, pursuing design agreements and a project partnership agreement, and carrying out federal and state advocacy for appropriations. Staff noted that authorization in WRDA does not itself provide construction funding; it provides congressional authority for the project and allows federal and nonfederal partners to move into the design phase and to seek appropriations.

CPRA also credited local partners, including Saint Tammany Parish and the Saint Tammany levee district, and the delegation’s support for securing the authorization. Neil McMillan (federal affairs liaison) was listed to present additional federal wins later in the meeting. CPRA staff emphasized that the state will work with the Corps on federal cost‑sharing arrangements and on operations and maintenance agreements in line with federal policy as the project proceeds.

Because WRDA authorization does not include appropriations, CPRA and local partners said they will need to pursue funding in future appropriations cycles and work with the Corps on design agreements and real estate requirements necessary to implement structural components.

Board members asked questions about sequencing, cost‑sharing, and opportunities to secure credits for state and local investments. CPRA said the agency will supply additional information on next steps and on how the authorization maps to CPRA’s draft FY2026 work program.