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Finance committee backs $10M reserve to spur planned $60M Iberia Parish wastewater plant
Summary
The Iberia Parish Finance Committee voted to send a resolution to full council creating a $10 million reserved line item toward planning and matching funds for a proposed $60 million wastewater treatment plant, with administrators saying the local pledge is meant to leverage state and federal grants.
The Iberia Parish Finance Committee voted July 8 to send a resolution to the full council that would amend the 2026 Economic Development District No. 1 fund to reserve $10,000,000 as a local commitment toward a proposed wastewater‑treatment project estimated at about $60,000,000.
Parish President, who presented the proposal, said the pledge is intended as “skin in the game” to attract federal and state funding. “We’re gonna pledge $10,000,000, probably won’t spend it, but showing them that this is real,” he said during the committee hearing. He and staff said the $10 million would initially be a budget line item, not immediate spending, to strengthen the parish’s case for other grants and low‑interest loans.
Administration staff provided the committee with a cost framework and a phased timeline: about $2 million for preliminary design and site studies, roughly $10 million for initial rerouting and lift‑station upgrades, and $45–50 million for the plant itself. “In our best projection, it was about 52 to $55,000,000,” the staff presenter said, noting the committee had added a 10% contingency to arrive at the $60 million figure.
Committee members pressed for specifics on location, permitting and operational cost impacts. The parish said the intended site area is near the airbase but would not be on airbase property, and that any air‑space restrictions or FAA coordination would be examined as part of site studies. Staff described a likely initial plant capacity of about 3,000,000 gallons per day, expandable later.
Members discussed the parish’s existing reliance on the City of New Iberia’s treatment plant and limits to that arrangement. Staff told the committee the city’s current permit is allocated around 6,000,000 gallons per day and that the city is seeking to raise its permitted capacity to 8,000,000; parish officials warned that relying solely on city capacity could eventually constrain local growth.
Several committee members urged exhausting state and federal loan programs (including DEQ loans and other low‑interest options) before the parish spends large sums. The Parish President said he expects additional federal and state contributions and that the $10 million line would demonstrate local commitment to potential funders.
The committee voted unanimously to send the amended budget language to the full council, with administration noting the line item would be funded from prior‑year fund balance and that formal appropriation decisions would come later as the project advances.
Next steps: the resolution will go to a full council vote; staff said further design and site studies would follow if the council approves the reserve.
