July 5 marked the biggest WIN for residents and business owners in St. John the Baptist Parish history.

Hurricane protection has evaded our community for more than 45 years, and our vulnerabilities were exposed with Hurricane Isaac. Since taking office in 2010, hurricane protection has been my No. 1 priority because of the increasing and recurring threat of flooding.

Although this project started years ago, the greatest amount of progress was made over the past three years. At a recent leadership summit, a representative of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) publicly noted that they have yet to see a federal project move from study phase-to chief’s report-to congressional authorization-to receiving full federal funding in three years – that is until West Shore.

This is unprecedented, but was not achieved without a great deal of work.

Armed with first-hand knowledge of repeated flooding and on-going threats of flooding, the impact to the country’s economy and closure of the evacuation routes for Southeast Louisiana, the only real options for funding a $760 million project was the federal government. But although optimistic and confident in our Congressional delegation, the thought of full funding for the project seemed years away. I could hardly contain myself on the phone call with Congressman Graves when he relayed the news of the $1.4 billion allocation for Louisiana and funding for this much needed project.

Because of his commitment and efforts, we now have full funding for the West Shore hurricane protection levee: the biggest WIN in Parish history, and it will remain so for many years to come. Thanks to the leadership of Congressman Graves, a strong will, determination and outstanding relationships with our partners, St. John Parish will have the flood protection it deserves.

Additionally, because the project is fully funded, flood insurance rates can be reduced even before the project is completed. This combination of actions will the most consequential for the future of St. John for many years to come.

Passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 in February and the $1.4 billion allocation were only a first step, now the real work begins. According to new Corps guidelines, the West Shore project is considered a “long term” project and is slated to be completed within three to five years.

Even with a preliminary design in hand, final design, property acquisition and mitigation will be led by the Corps, working with a range of partners and using non-traditional methods to begin turning dirt in a year to a year and a half.

The finished project will include 18 miles of earthen levees with four pump stations in an alignment from Montz to Mt. Airy. The project also includes floodwalls, floodgates, drainage canals and drainage structures.

The initial $1.2 billion allocation in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will also be made available to mitigate against future flood damage in Louisiana. Receipt of these large sums of money, shows that our voices are finally being heard when it comes to protecting our communities from water-related disasters.

East Bank residents of the River Parishes are a step closer to getting a new federal levee protecting them against floodwaters from Lake Pontchartrain — a project more than 45 years in the making is coming to fruition. It is indeed a great day to be a resident of St. John the Baptist Parish! Let’s turn some dirt!

Natalie Robottom is St. John the Baptist Parish President. She can be reached at communications@stjohn-la.gov.