House panel approves $60 million LISRA appropriation for LaPral dam after amendments

The House Appropriations Committee on a voice and subsequent roll-call vote voted to advance House Bill 143, LaPral Dam Rebuilding, after adding amendments to specify how available water development reversions and language conflicts with an omnibus construction bill should be handled.

Representative (bringer) presented the bill as an urgent funding measure to address a dam considered to be at risk of catastrophic failure and said the bill would appropriate $60,000,000 from the LISRA (the state’s Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account) into the Water Development account to cover the state share of the project. The bill sponsor said $30,000,000 had been previously appropriated and that total state need is roughly $90,000,000.

The committee heard technical clarifications from Jason Meade, director of the Water Development Office, who explained the state maintains multiple water development accounts. He said Water Development Account 3 is for large new reservoirs (2,000 acre-feet or…