In the News
Graves: Deal imminent for Laurel Ridge Levee extension in Ascension to go forward; Livingston's suit to be on holdGraves: Deal imminent for Laurel Ridge Levee extension in Ascension to go forward; Livingston's suit to be on hold
Washington, DC,
January 25, 2019
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BY DAVID J. MITCHELL and CAROLINE GRUESKIN
Livingston and Ascension parish presidents and a top levee district official will meet Friday to finalize a deal at least temporarily defusing a dispute over a proposed levee extension project in Ascension that has been tied up in court since May. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, announced the gathering in a statement Thursday, saying the deal would allow work on the $24 million Laurel Ridge Levee extension to go forward and set the stage for a broader regional drainage and flood protection pact for the Amite River Basin. Parish officials recently received blessings from their councils to cut that deal. It would allow engineering and land acquisition to continue on the 4.5-mile extension, but not construction until all sides had reached a final consensus. The suit would be held in abeyance. Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks informed the parish council Thursday night of his plans to sign the agreement. The agreement, he said, "basically stays the lawsuit while it's still pending. It's there to be moved forward, should and when or if they are not able to satisfy us either through mitigation programs that will offset whatever adverse effect the levee has on them and/or the levee design itself … . "They in turn have agreed that no construction work will move forward at all until we are satisfied," Ricks said. "We haven't backed off the lawsuit, but we will stay it to give them a chance to see what they can do." Ascension officials have been eyeing an extension of their eastern surge protection levee since the late 1970s but Livingston officials balked early last year after the extension received a key wetlands permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, making the long sought extension a real possibility. Livingston officials worried the extension of Ascension's existing eastern levee system in the river basin would push more water on their residents in times of high water. Later analysis paid for by Ascension and uncovered last spring showed the extension and a related levee raising could cause worse flooding for Livingston communities outside the levee than earlier believed. In May, Livingston sued Ascension and the levee district, which is handling and financing the early phases of the project, but that suit has been on hold as the two sides tried to negotiate a deal. Ascension and levee officials have since conducted a more-detailed analysis and proposed added projects they say would mitigate almost of all of the flood impact on Livingston. One would involve digging channels under La. 22 in the Acy area to allow floodwater outside the Ascension levee system to flow more easily south, reducing flooding to the north in Livingston. Officials will meet in a news conference 10 a.m. Friday in Gonzales to finish the deal and discuss its contents, Graves' office said. The conference will be at the Ascension Parish Governmental Complex, 615 E. Worthey Road. |