BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday to allow dredging in the Comite River. It now heads to the Governor's desk for his signature.

The bill (SB 490) removes the Comite from a protected class of scenic rivers. While it doesn't fund the dredging, it is an important step in the process.

Supporters expect it to improve drainage particularly in the City of Central. Opponents fear it will destroy wildlife and exacerbate flooding downstream into the Amite River.

"The whole region needs to engage on this," said the bill's sponsor Sen. Bodi White (R-Central). "This is the first time in probably five decades when there's going to be dollars appropriated on the federal level to do this work."

White hopes parish and city leaders along the Comite and Amite River basins will cooperate to improve drainage together.