WASHINGTON D.C. — St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom said local officials secured a key federal endorsement this week in the effort to secure increased flood protection through levee construction.

According to Robottom, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 19-1 early Thursday morning in favor of the Westshore Lake Pontchartrain Levee Project that will protect the East bank of St. John Parish in addition to parts of St. Charles and St. James Parishes.

The next step in the authorization process, Robottom said, is to gain approval by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge), sits on, and then a final vote on the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. The House Committee vote is expected in the next three weeks, and St. John Officials plan to make the case again for project advancement.

“I cannot thank our federal delegation enough for continuing to work with us and make sure this critical project was included in the most recent WRDA bill,” Robottom said.

“I’m looking forward to working with all stakeholders, especially CPRA, who will serve as the non-federal sponsor, to get dirt on the ground as quickly as possible. We worked hard to get this project to this point, and now is not the time to sit back and relax. We must push forward.”

Robottom was joined in Washington this week by Parish Councilman Buddy Boe and Councilman Larry Sorapuru.

The local delegation presented letters of support, a Council resolution and photos detailing the history of flooding.

Robottom and Boe met with U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), Graves and U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans) individually to provide supplementary information to assist in gaining the support of Committee members.

Additionally, Robottom said staff from Vitter’s and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s office joined her and Boe at a meeting with a representative of the Army Corps of Engineers at their national headquarters to discuss the immediate next steps in moving the levee project forward.

Key takeaways included: working with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Pontchartrain Levee District and the local Corps office in New Orleans to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow the locals to move forward with design, mitigation, permitting and start the process of acquiring the necessary rights-of-way.

Boe said it is now time for the Council and Administration to aggressively move forward on prep work necessary to move on construction as soon as funding is provided by Congress.

“On May 10th, I will submit to the Council a resolution to create a Flood Protection Committee, whose sole focus will be getting this levee paid for and built,” he said.

“As CAO in St. Charles, I worked with the Levee District, CPRA and the Corps on four phases of the Westbank levee in only three years. We’ll have to take the same aggressive attitude if we are going to see this levee built in the foreseeable future.”