Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022 Requests
Project Name: South Central Planning and Development Commission, Environmental Infrastructure
Modification
Project Location: Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish, Assumption Parish, St.
Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Mary's Parish
Congressional District:
LA06, LA01, LA02, LA03
Project Sponsor: South Central Planning and Development
Commission
Requested Amount: $10 million increase
Certification of No Financial Interest
Project Name: Baton Rouge, LA, Environmental Infrastructure Modification
Project
Location: Ascension Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, Livingston Parish
Congressional
District: LA06 and LA02
Project Sponsor: Ascension Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish,
Livingston Parish
Requested Amount: $30 million increase
Certification of No Financial Interest
Project Name: St. John the Baptist, Assumption, and St. James Parishes, Environmental
Infrastructure Modification
Project Location: St. John the Baptist, Assumption, and St. James
Parishes
Congressional District: LA06 and LA02
Project Sponsor: St. John the
Baptist, Assumption, and St. James Parishes
Requested Amount: $36 million cap
Certification of No Financial Interest
Project
Name: Allied Health
Education Facilities Renovation
Requested
Amount:
$1,938,734
Recipient: Franciscan
Missionaries of Our Lady University
Recipient
Address: 7443 Picardy Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA
70808
Project Description: The funding
will support the demolition, renovation, and expansion of the School of Health
Professions building at FranU to create 4,000 square feet of additional classrooms,
laboratories, offices, and meeting spaces for their allied health programs. When the
facilities enlargement is completed, FranU will be able to increase their cohort size to
graduate an estimated 1,300 workforce-ready allied health professionals over the next
nine years. This is a critical issue for Louisiana, where healthcare workforce needs are
dire. In 2019, schools nationwide turned away more than 80,000 qualified applicants from
nursing programs due to an insufficient number of qualified faculty, clinical sites,
classroom space, and budget constraints. The pandemic has further highlighted the need
for qualified and well-trained respiratory therapists, nurses, and other healthcare
professionals. This is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the expansion of School
of Health Professions will enable FranU to train more healthcare professionals to fill
the workforce gap in our state and ensure that Louisiana's patients receive the care
they need at facilities across the state.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Bayou Sorrel
Lock
Requested Amount:
$400,000
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, New Orleans District
Recipient
Address: 7400 Leake Ave., New Orleans, LA
70118
Project Description: The Bayou
Sorrel Lock, which was built in 1951, is the smallest lock in the Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway (GIWW) system and is unable to support modern tugs and barge tows. The project
will fund a study to assess the replacement of this outdated structure to ensure the
viability and resiliency of the Gulf's inland maritime transportation system. Ensuring
locks are able to handle modern inland marine traffic is critical to ensuring continuity
for the critical supply chains that the GIWW supports.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Center for
Excellence in Military Health and
Performance
Requested
Amount:
$5,000,000
Recipient: Pennington Biomedical
Research Center
Recipient Address: 6400
Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Project
Description: Pennington Biomedical Research Center
requested funds to build upon an ongoing, 33-year partnership between PBRC and the
Department of Defense and commence the second of a five-year project to optimize
performance and resilience to benefit recruits, warfighters, veterans, first responders,
and their families. Ensuring that our military service members are healthy, ready for
deployment, and able to withstand the stress of extended warfare is a priority for each
of our military branches and a valuable use of taxpayer dollars.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Church United for
Community Development (Life House)
Requested
Amount:
$1,000,000
Recipient: Church United for
Community Development (Life House)
Recipient
Address: 10565 Life House Street, St. James, LA
70086
Project Description: The Life
House Vocational Training Facility, situated in St. James, Louisiana, will provide for
the enhancement and expansion of existing vocational training facilities and programs
in order to aid adults struggling with addiction, homelessness, or instability after
incarceration to ensure those individuals have access to resources and skills
necessary to retain jobs and create a better life for
themselves.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: High-Risk Youth
Crime and Violence Diversion Program
Requested
Amount:
$375,000
Recipient: Truce of Baton Rouge,
Inc.
Recipient Address: 1120 Government
Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Project
Description: This funding request would be used to
support TRUCE in their work to help young people in South Louisiana who are engaged in
crime, gang activity, or other violent behavior seek a more productive, law-abiding
path. TRUCE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Baton Rouge working to address the issue of
violent crime in the Capital Region, one young person at a time. Baton Rouge has one of
the highest violent crime rates in the United States, with 170 murders in 2021, and
crime data shows that a disproportionate number of violent crimes are committed by young
offenders. Since 2018, TRUCE's caseworkers have crafted a range of programs that provide
targeted interventions to high-risk young people between the ages of 14 and 24, as well
as broader community crime prevention and education initiatives. Expanding TRUCE's
programming is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will help make our
communities safer by addressing the systemic issues that cause crime in the first place.
This is a sustainable model that can bridge the gap between youth, schools, law
enforcement, and the judicial system to reduce crime and set vulnerable kids on the path
to success.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Houma Navigation
Canal
Requested Amount:
$2,500,000
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, New Orleans District
Recipient
Address: 7400 Leake Ave., New Orleans, LA
70118
Project Description: The HNC is
a 36-mile channel connecting the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Gulf of Mexico and
serves the shipyards and industries which support the offshore marine sector, which is
responsible for 20 percent of our nation's domestically produced energy. This region of
South Louisiana is also the home base for shipyards that are actively building vessels
for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, and
National Science Foundation as well as those creating new marine technologies to support
emerging markets such as the offshore wind industry. Funding will continue
Pre-construction, Engineering, and Design (PED) on the project, to align the completion
of PED with the construction of the critical Houma Navigation Canal Lock
Structure.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Investigative
Support Unit
Requested
Amount:
$735,548
Recipient: East Baton Rouge
Sheriff's Office
Recipient Address: 8900
Jimmy Wedell Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Project
Description: This funding will support the acquisition
of new investigative technologies to maximize existing manpower and enable EBRSO to
respond to the rising crime rates in the Capital Region. Establishing an Investigative
Support Unit will enable EBRSO to solve crimes, overcome the challenges posed by their
understaffing, and continue to provide critical render safe functions for the entire
region. These purchases are a valuable use of taxpayer funds because they will help law
enforcement quickly generate critical investigative leads, keep offenders off the
streets, and ensure the safety of our citizens in Louisiana.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Less-Than-Lethal
Technology Training Center
Requested
Amount:
$2,220,460
Recipient: Louisiana Department
of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services, Office of State
Police
Recipient Address: 7919 Independence
Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Project
Description: The Louisiana Office of State Police
requested $2,220,460 for the Less-Than-Lethal Technology Training Center in Louisiana.
LSP has experience providing training to thousands of personnel from hundreds of
agencies from around the world at their state-of-the-art training facility, the Joint
Emergency Services Training Center (JESTC). The project funding would enable LSP to ramp
up training capacity and transform JESTC into a state-of-the-art training facility with
a specialty in less than lethal force technologies and de-escalation techniques. In
addition to purchasing two additional virtual reality use-of-force training simulators,
the funding would provide for audiovisual support technology and other upgrades to
enable LSP to make maximum use of the training equipment. JESTC's facilities are
currently best equipped for traditional, live scenario-based trainings. This funding
will enable LSP to convert a portion of JESTC's facility into a virtual reality training
environment that will provide high-quality instruction, repetition, and a level of
training safety and simulation that is not possible using traditional training
methodologies. This is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will provide
additional tools and training to law enforcement officers at all levels of government to
help to bridge the gap between engaging a citizen and using a deadly
weapon.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name:
Louisiana State University - Coastal High Frequency Radar
System
Requested
Amount:
$5,000,000
Recipient: Louisiana
State University
Recipient Address:
130 David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Project
Description: This project will provide funding
to Louisiana State University to install a system of coastal high-frequency
RADAR instrumentation systems for monitoring coastal currents, waves, and
related weather phenomena which will enable better forecasting and modeling of
coastal current conditions such as plume dynamics and waterborne contaminants,
up to 125 miles offshore of coastal Louisiana.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Mississippi River
Bridge South Greater Baton Rouge: LA 1 to LA 30
Connector
Requested
Amount: $2
million
Recipient: Louisiana Department of
Transportation and Development
Recipient
Address: 1201 Capitol Access Road, Baton Rouge, LA
70802
Project Description: A second
Mississippi River Bridge crossing in the southern portion of the Greater Baton Rouge
area will provide additional connectivity and capacity where the Mississippi River
divides the metropolitan region. The existing Mississippi River Bridge is next to the
only place in the nation where I-10 narrows down to a single lane. Despite being a
metropolitan area of 830,000 people, Baton Rouge has some of the worst traffic
congestion in the country. This project funding would allow for the uninterrupted
transition to the Environmental Evaluation phase of the project, which will culminate in
a final alignment for the new bridge.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Morganza to the
Gulf Project
Requested
Amount:
$31,000,000
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, New Orleans District
Recipient
Address: 7400 Leake Ave., New Orleans, LA
70118
Project Description: This
funding will be used to elevate Reach F of the Morganza to the Gulf project to 18 feet,
improving protection for multiple economically critical communities in Louisiana. would
improve the connection between Bayou Grand Caillou Floodgate and the Houma Navigational
Canal Lock Complex. This Reach is one of the easiest pathways for floodwaters to
inundate populated areas.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Nicholls State
University Coastal STEM Education
Experience
Requested
Amount:
$2,020,225
Recipient: Nicholls State
University
Recipient Address: 906 East 1st
Street, Thibodaux, LA 70301
Project
Description: The Coastal STEM Education Experience
(CoSEE) at the Nicholls State University Coastal Center will educate students and the
public on issues facing the Gulf Coast, the critical need for coastal protection and
restoration, and the potential impact of scientific and engineering innovations on these
threats. CoSEE's educational installations will support the work of Nicholls State
University's state-established Coastal Center to support the preservation of our coastal
heritage.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: The Resilience
Center at the Water Institute of the Gulf
Requested
Amount: $2.5
million
Recipient: The Water Institute of
the Gulf
Recipient Address: 1110 River Road,
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Project
Description: Coastal communities in Louisiana have been
identified as the most likely location for a hurricane to make landfall in the United
States. This vulnerability is enhanced by insufficient federal funding to address the
effects of freshwater and sediment loads which results in dramatic coastal land loss,
continuous sea-level rise, and other impacts. This funding will enable the Institute to
develop and prioritize science-based resilience strategies to maximize preparedness and
resilience benefits in five communities in Louisiana.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: USDA, Agricultural
Research Service, Sugarcane Research Unit Consolidation of
Facilities
Requested
Amount:
$36,100,000
Recipient: USDA,
Agricultural Research Service
Recipient
Address: 501 Bull Run Road, Schriever, LA
70395
Project Description:
$35,100,000 in funding is requested to construct a joint office and laboratory
building as well as two greenhouse facilities, all of which have already been planned
and designed, for the USDA Agricultural Research Service Sugarcane Research Unit. The
construction of these buildings will allow the Sugarcane Research Unit to complete the
consolidation of its operations from an out of an out-of-code, structurally and
mechanically inadequate, 80-year-old building to a state-of-the-art facility which
maximizes existing taxpayer investment at the Ardoyne Farm site. An effort which was
begun with FY2004
appropriations.
Agriculture is critical to the economy of the state of Louisiana
and sugarcane is one of the most valuable crops, boasting receipts with an overall economic value of
$3 billion annually. The Sugarcane Research Unit supports this critical industry by researching and
developing improved varieties of sugarcane, expanding the cropping range, developing environmentally
friendly production strategies, and combatting a constantly evolving pest complex that includes
diseases, insects, and weeds.
Financial
Disclosure
Project
Name: Widening of LA
Highway 30
Requested
Amount:
$1,100,000
Recipient: Louisiana Department
of Transportation and Development
Recipient
Address: 1201 Capitol Access Road, Baton Rouge, LA
70802
Project Description: Widening
LA-30 from two to four lanes would enable its northwestern route to better serve
existing employers and businesses, as well as prepare for other economic expansions that
are currently underway. This expansion will help prepare for the eventual construction
of an additional Mississippi River Bridge. The new crossing will connect LA-30 in
Ascension Parish on the east side of the river to LA-1 in East Baton Rouge Parish on the
west side of the river. Even without the impending construction of a new bridge, this is
a "no regrets" improvement which has been badly needed in our community for a number of
years.
Financial
Disclosure
