MORGAN CITY, LA (AP) — Funds from the settlement over BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 will be used to construct a permanent flood control structure in Bayou Chene.
The Courier’s Bridget Mire reports the structure will protect St. Mary and several other parishes, including Terrebonne, Lafourche and Assumption. The announcement came Tuesday.
The floodgate is expected to cost about $100 million. It will replace a temporary barge gate built in 2011 when the Atchafalaya River flooded.
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chip Kline says money is set to start coming in a year after a consent decree is signed with BP.
Kline says the consent decree is expected to be signed early next year, but the state is trying to secure the money now to begin work on Bayou Chene.
