To protect the citizens and businesses of the West Bank of the Greater New Orleans area in Jefferson and Orleans parishes from hurricanes and riverine flooding by inspecting, operating and maintaining the integrity of our levees, floodwalls and floodgates.
SLFPA-W HISTORY AND LEGISLATION
The West Jefferson Levee District (WJLD) was created in 1980. It was carved out of the
Lafourche Basin Levee District and included all lands in Jefferson Parish on the west side of the Mississippi River.
In 1992, the Grand Isle Independent Levee District was created and removed from the
jurisdiction of the WJLD. In response to Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic damages to the Greater New Orleans area, the legislature consolidated all of the levee districts in the GNO area into two newly created regional flood protection authorities:
– Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (SLFPA-E) East Jefferson, Lake Borgne Basin, and Orleans Levee Districts
– Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West (SLFPA-W) West Jefferson Levee District (La Const Art VI, Sec 38-38.1 and Act 1, 1st Ex Session of 2006) Act 475, 2007 Regular Session created the Lafitte Area Independent Levee District and removed it from the jurisdiction of the WJLD.
The same Act reorganized the Orleans Levee District and created the Algiers Levee
District under the jurisdiction of SLFPA-W. The two regional flood authorities are created as levee districts and are constitutionally defined as local political subdivisions. Their jurisdiction, powers and duties are defined in part in La R.S. 38:330.1 et seq. The expressed legislative intent was
1. to provide for enhanced flood protection scientifically based on hydrology (basins)
rather than political boundaries; and, to
2. to provide for statutorily mandated academic and technical qualifications for flood authority commissioners and regional directors. SLFPA-W is responsible for flood protection west of the Mississippi River in all of Orleans Parish (Algiers) and the most populated areas of Jefferson Parish, including 80 miles of levees and floodwalls, 3 sector gates and 3 pump stations, and the operation and maintenance of the West Closure Complex (WCC) in Plaquemines Parish.
The Authority is governed by a seven (7) member Board of Commissioners, and is responsible for management, oversight, and control of the West Jefferson Levee District (WJLD) and the Algiers Levee District (ALD).
WBV CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
The WBV Project was authorized by WRDA of 1986 (Public Law 99-662) and the LCA federal cost share agreement was signed on December 18, 1990. Preauthorization land acquisition had already begun in October 1987. Project construction began in 1991 and was completed in 2022. During the 32-year construction phase, the SLFPA-W and the WJLD served as the designated agent for La DOTD and the CPRA as the non-federal sponsors for the Project and oversaw all land acquisition, construction, and related activities on the non-federal sponsors’ behalf, the WJLD has acquired and owns in fee title or permanent servitude the entirety of the WBV Project real estate in St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans, and Plaquemines parishes, and has acquired and owns fee title to 3020.04 acres of wetlands mitigation tracts in Lafourche, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes. Following construction completion in 2022, SLFPA-W assumed its statutory obligation for operations, maintenance, repair, replacement, and rehabilitation (OMRR&R) within its territorial jurisdiction on the West Bank of Jefferson and Orleans Parishes including the West Closure Complex pursuant to La R.S. 38:101(C) which provides that: “Upon completion of the construction of the hurricane protection projects, the responsibility for maintenance and operation of the hurricane protection system shall be assumed by the West Jefferson Levee District, the Orleans Levee District, Plaquemines Parish, and the Lafourche Basin Levee District, respectively for those portions of the system within each of the parishes.” In addition to the WBV Project, SLFPA-W is also responsible for the mainline Mississippi River levee within its jurisdiction and flood control projects for the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project. SLFPA-W coordinates regularly on its Operations, Maintenance, and Inspection (O&M) programs with the CPRA as the Non-Federal Sponsor, as well as the USACE as the primary regulatory agency that oversees hurricane flood protection in the United States, regarding operational readiness for flood events and situational awareness of the system’s O&M status.
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