After more than 30 years in development, there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel for the final construction of the Amite River Basin/Comite River Diversion Canal (ARBC).
According to an update from FEMA, the project is expected to reach a major construction milestone by the spring of 2027, which would trigger a formal map update process, which could significantly lower flood insurance premiums for thousands of residents.
The Amite River Basin Commission will also hold four public meetings for its seven-member parishes at multiple locations, including:
- June 16th Gonzales
- June 17th Baton Rouge
- June 18th Livingston
- June 23rd Clinton (Subject to change based on expected meeting capacity)
The project’s primary goal is to divert excess water from the Comite River into the Mississippi River during times of heavy rainfall, potentially reducing the flood risk for 700,000 area residents and homeowners. That update comes nearly nine years after the historic 2016 flood.
Paul Sawyer, Executive Director of the Amite Basin Commission, told UWK that this update from FEMA is a big deal.
“Everybody keeps asking when the Comite River Diversion Canal is going to be finished? And the letter that FEMA sent really puts on record for the very first time in writing that a federal voice is saying when they think this project is going to be completed,” Sawyer said.
He also explained that while the Corps of Engineers is in charge of this project, and not FEMA, the two groups work collaboratively.
“They (FEMA) are as zippered in on this project as anyone and in particular with the flood mapping,” Sawyer said. “They’re essentially saying that they estimate this project to be completed in late 2028 to early 2029, and that sets the parameters by which FEMA can start revising flood maps.”
Once those flood maps are revised, Sawyer said it could result in big savings for homeowners who live within that flood basin.
The ABRC also says its new Master Plan will identify additional strategies to reduce or eliminate flood zone designations for 30,000 homes, potentially resulting in as much as $25 million in annual savings in insurance costs for home and business owners in the basin.
Sawyer said residents will not have to wait for the project to be fully completed before they start seeing insurance rates drop.
He explained that because the Comite project is 100% funded, once it is 50% completed, FEMA can begin redrawing flood maps in a way that shows the project is finished, resulting in lowered insurance rates for tens of thousands of people who live within the Basin.
“FEMA believes that the 50% threshold will be met in the summer of 2027 so that by 2028, it’s easily going to be in the tens of thousands, people are going to have eliminated or reduced flood insurance premiums which is going to be a huge saving for people in the Amite River Basin, and that’s before the project is even done,” Sawyer explained.”
They get the benefit of the project halfway through, and then when the project is completed, then they get the actual protection.”
The project has been ongoing since August of 1991 and is estimated to cost $1 billion by completion. Sawyer has been involved with it since its inception, when he worked as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Richard Baker and later served as U.S. Rep. Garret Graves’ Chief of Staff until 2025.
Originally, the project was the product of two catastrophic floods that happened in the basin in 1977 and 1983, which spurred Congress to explore funding flood mitigation measures in the area.
“At long last, we are going to tackle the persistent flooding that happens in this basin. This will be the first master plan of its kind in the Amite River Basin. There has never been anything like it,” Sawyer said.
ARBC will vote on the master plan at its May 13th meeting. Of the 13 voting members on the commission, Sawyer said seven are parish presidents, which is historic in and of itself.
“In this part of Louisiana, you’ve never had this level of cooperation among parish presidents,” Sawyer said.
For Sawyer personally, he said this has been one of the biggest professional projects of his life, and he’s proud to see how close it is to completion despite the many roadblocks that have presented themselves in those previous 30-plus years.
“It’s all coming together. This has been a frustration and a fight. 2016 should not have been the historical event that it was. We should have had measures in place. This has been decades and decades of neglect, and it’s finally coming together where we have a plan, we’re spending money, and we’re going to have big projects delivered. We’re just praying to God that we don’t have any big events before we’re done because we now have it together. We have money, we have will, and we’re organized,” Sawyer said.
Even as the Corps of Engineers finishes the project, Sawyer said the ARBC isn’t sitting on their hands.
The ARBC and its parish partners are moving forward with more than $100 million in active flood mitigation efforts, including:
- Upper Amite Flood Risk Reduction & Restoration (Livingston, St. Helena, East Feliciana) – Enhancing floodplain storage, reducing sediment, and restoring habitat.
- Bayou Manchac Flood Risk Reduction (East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville) – Clearing sediment, realigning Ward Creek, and replacing the Perkins Road Bridge.
- New River Pump Station (Ascension) – Diverting floodwaters to the Mississippi via new channels and pump infrastructure.
- Lower Amite Channel Restoration (Livingston) – Improving drainage by removing sediment buildup.
- St. James Connector Levee (St. James) – Bolstering flood protection in coordination with the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain system.
To stay updated on the project, follow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District Facebook page.
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