§ 38:3306 — General powers and duties of the board

§3306. General powers and duties of the board
A.(1) The board shall adopt bylaws for its own government and for the government
of its employees. It shall adopt rules or regulations for comprehensive drainage, flood
control and water resources development, reservoir, and diversion canal systems. Prior to
the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule or regulation by the board, the proposed rule
or regulation shall be submitted to the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and
Public Works and the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
Oversight review of rules and regulations shall be conducted by the respective committees
provided for in this Paragraph. The board shall keep a record of its proceedings, which shall
be published after each meeting in a journal to be selected by it. The board at each regular
session shall examine all accounts or operations of the board and determine what work shall
be undertaken. All work shall be advertised to be let out by means of sealed proposals to the
lowest responsible bidder, reserving to the board authority to reject all bids. In case of
emergency, the board may make contracts for the control of flooding without advertisement
and sealed proposals.
(2) The board shall promulgate regulations for watershed management within the
district, insofar as they affect watershed management, that address the following:
(a) Planning.
(b) Permitting.
(c) Selection of and performing projects and programs.
(d) Resolution of conflicts among agencies.
(e) Use of best available science.
(f) Outreach to the public and agencies.
(g) Coordination with state agencies and political subdivisions regarding watershed
management.
(h) Identifying, seeking, receiving, and expending federal and other funding for
planning and projects.
(i) Providing assistance to political subdivisions in planning, designing and
constructing projects, and identifying and obtaining funding.
(j) Agreements with public and private entities to identify, seek, receive, and expend
funds.
(k) Maintaining projects and programs once complete.
(l) Providing an appeal process.
(m) Defining qualifications for staff and contractors.
(n) Creating and managing a wetland mitigation bank, if deemed feasible by the
board, on lands owned by the district on January 1st following June 16, 2022.
B. The board shall be vested with the control of all public drainage, flood control and
water resources development, reservoirs, and diversion canals in the district. The board shall
have the authority in connection with the proposed construction of any reservoir to have
conducted a comprehensive study to determine the economic impact on the parishes of East
Feliciana and St. Helena of accompanying commercial and residential development and
growth. The board shall have the authority to require the office of engineering to lay out,
furnish estimates, and perform all engineering work necessary to the establishment of
adequate drainage, flood control, and water resources development.
C. The board shall have the authority to construct and maintain drainage works of
all types either in cooperation with one or more parishes, municipalities, drainage districts,
or other special districts within its territorial jurisdiction or upon its own undertaking.
Projects shall require approval of two-thirds of the total voting membership. All other
decisions, including technical, planning, and permitting decisions, shall require approval by
a simple majority of the total voting membership.
D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section to the contrary, all work
undertaken pursuant to the authority granted by this Section shall be constructed in
accordance with the provisions of R.S. 38:2211 et seq.
E. The board shall have the authority to enter upon any lands, waters, and premises
in the district for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, examinations, and
appraisals, as it may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this Chapter, and such
entry shall not be deemed a trespass nor shall entry for such purpose be deemed a trespass
under any expropriation proceeding which may be pending, provided that ten days registered
notice in the case of resident owners and twenty-five days registered notice in the case of
non-resident owners be given to the owner of record of such lands, waters, or premises as
reflected by the parish assessment rolls. Notice shall be mailed by registered mail, return
receipt requested, to the last known address of the owner, as shown on the assessment
records. The district shall make reimbursement for any actual damage to such lands, waters,
or premises as a result of such activities.
F. The board may expropriate property subject to and in accordance with R.S.
48:441-460, where applicable. The owner of residential property or commercial property,
including homes, businesses, barns, outbuildings and churches, shall be paid the replacement
cost of any such property expropriated by the board.
G. The board shall develop and implement a plan to manage and maintain all
waterways in the district, of state or regional concern, in relation to matters impacting
watershed management in the district.
H.(1) The board shall develop a master plan for comprehensive drainage, flood
control, and water resource management within the district ("watershed management")
through the construction and management of projects and programs, including planning,
permitting, development, and waterway management. The plan shall address watershed
management from both short-term and long-range perspectives and shall incorporate
structural, nonstructural, management, and institutional components of both efforts. The
plan shall include a list of projects and programs required for implementation, a schedule and
estimated costs, and explain why each project or program was selected and how it advances
plan objectives. The plan shall be consistent with the Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority Master Plan. It shall also provide for public outreach and public hearings in at
least northern, central, and southern portions of the district. The plan shall be subject to
legislative approval annually by the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and
Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
The board shall submit its initial plan prior to the 2025 legislative session and shall review,
revise, and amend its plan every six years thereafter.
(2) All political subdivisions within the bounds of the district shall administer their
regulatory practices, programs, projects, contracts, grants, and all other functions vested in
them in a manner consistent with the master plan and shall be consistent with public interest
to the maximum extent possible.
I. The board shall develop annual plans for watershed management. Each annual
plan shall include, at minimum, a three-year projection of funding for projects and programs,
including funding sources. The plan shall be consistent with the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority Master Plan. The plan shall provide for public outreach and public
hearings in at least northern, central, and southern portions of the district. The plan shall be
subject to legislative approval annually by the Senate Committee on Transportation,
Highways and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and
Public Works. The board shall submit its initial annual plan by January 1, 2024.
J. The board shall place a heavy focus and constant emphasis on plans that include
project inventories, implementation plans, and strategies to maximize the use of innovative
funding strategies such as public-private partnerships, pursuit of grant funding, capital outlay
requests, and millage initiatives to the extent necessary to timely fund and implement the
board's planned projects and programs.
K. The board shall report annually to the parish presidents and parish governing
authorities representing the parishes making up the district, the Legislature of Louisiana, and
to a committee of representatives and senators whose districts include any portion of the
Amite River Basin.
L. Each parish within the district shall submit its initial hazard mitigation plan by
January 1, 2023, and thereafter shall submit a hazard mitigation plan to the board every five
years. Each parish within the district shall cooperate with the board to ensure that the
impacts of drainage, flood control, and water resource management are considered in the
development of each hazard mitigation plan. The board shall ensure each parish hazard
mitigation plan identifies how to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Community Rating System (CRS) or any successor or similar program or how to maximize
participation in the CRS. The board shall also consider and prioritize policies and programs
that can reduce flood risk and reduce flood insurance premiums. The board shall participate
and assist in the development of each parish hazard mitigation plan within the district.
M. Within the areas of the district that are concurrent with the limits of the
Pontchartrain Levee District as set forth in R.S. 38:291(L), the Pontchartrain Levee District
shall have primary jurisdiction. The Amite River Basin Drainage and Water Conservation
District shall not initiate any project or program within the limits of the Pontchartrain Levee
District without consulting with and receiving approval from the board of commissioners of
the Pontchartrain Levee District.

Legislative History

Added by Acts 1981, No. 896, §1; Acts 1984, No. 907, §2; Acts 1985, No. 606, §1; Acts 2012, No. 753, §5; Acts 2022, No. 490, §1, eff. June 16, 2022; Acts 2025, No. 247, §1.