United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Rock Island District United State Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – New Orleans District USACE Southwest Coastal Non-Structural Flood Risk Management Project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana have signed a partnership agreement for the $6.5 billion Southwest Coastal Louisiana hurricane and storm damage risk reduction and coastal ecosystem restoration project. Southwest Coast Louisiana was authorized in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016.

Congress and the Administration made a national commitment by including $286 million in the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $10 million in 2022 Community Project Funding to initiate construction of the non-structural flood risk management plan. These funds will be used to elevate an estimated 800-1000 of the overall 3,462 residential structures identified in the feasibility report. The project will be shared at 65% federal and 35% by CPRA. An additional $10 million Community Project Funding will be applied toward project’s first restoration features, including six miles of shoreline protection at Rockefeller Refuge.

“We need to look no further back than Hurricanes Laura and Delta to recall the devastation caused to these coastal communities here in Southwest Louisiana” states Major General Diana Holland. “To deliver the Nation’s commitment, USACE is applying a regional approach to delivery with the support of the Mississippi Valley Division and the Rock Island District.”

Colonel Cullen Jones added “this partnering agreement is a first step in implementing the combined non-structural flood risk management and coastal restoration to deliver an overall 1-percent level of risk reduction for the residents and businesses that participate in the program. We look forward to working closely with CPRA and our local governments as we move forward to deliver risk reduction to this vital part of the Nation.”

Wingate Engineers was selected to perform the assessment, surveying, design and construction of the elevation of 21 residential structures to 1 foot above their 75-year base flood elevation. These structures have been identified through a volunteer process where homeowners in the Vermillion, Calcasieu, and Cameron Parish areas were allowed to participate in the program based on certain properties requirements and determinants. The project is scheduled to be completed within 245 calendar days of notice to proceed.