BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards will travel to Washington, D.C. Monday to  meet with the Commanding General and Chief of Engineers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss the long-delayed Comite River Diversion Canal.

The project, intended to be funded by the Corps, has been delayed since it was first approved in 1992.  Following the 2016 floods, Gov. Edwards and members of the Louisiana legislature have met regularly to determine ways to move this project forward. 

“For more than two decades, the Comite River Diversion Canal has been tied up in federal bureaucracy while the need to complete it has only grown here in Louisiana,” said Gov. Edwards. 

The estimated remaining federal cost of the CRDC is $125 million, in addition to Louisiana’s commitment of up to $87 million in Priority 1 and Priority 5 Capital Outlay Program. 

Following the August 2016 flood event, the state of Louisiana requested guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the use of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds toward this project.  FEMA determined that those resources could not be used for a project under construction authorization from the Corps.

A community meeting to discuss the canal is also planned for 6:30 p.m. Monday at  the KC Hall at 6923 Oak Cluster Drive in Greenwell Springs.