A joint legislative committee last week approved a $95 million allocation for the victims of a 1983 flood in the Baton Rouge area that was blamed by numerous courts on the construction of Interstate 12 in southeastern Louisiana.
The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget approved the funding outlay on Sept. 16, moving the state closer to resolving a long-running legal battle. Litigation began after 400 families and 95 businesses in Tangipahoa Parish suffered flood damage caused by the way the newly built I-12 channeled waters from the Tangipahoa River.
“I think the settlement that we’ve reached is a fair settlement for the state, which takes them off the hook for any interest that had accumulated on the awards over the years.” Rep. William Wheat Jr. (R-Ponchatoula), a member of the joint committee, told the Louisiana Record. “... It’s time that we put this behind us and we move on.”
$7 million has already been appropriated for the legal settlement, so the joint panel’s approval of $95 million in additional funding will bring the total amount to $102 million, according to Wheat. The money will go to what is titled the Jean Boudreaux Settlement Compromise Fund.
Wheat said that a judge would still have to review the final settlement plan to make sure it is fair to all the plaintiffs who are owed funds for property damage during the 1983 flooding.
“Then the process becomes a little bit time-consuming in the sense that work needs to be done to identify the heirs of the folks who have passed away,” he said, adding that a state court will appoint a special master to ensure that victims will receive what is owed them in six to eight months.
A number of factors contributed to the length of time it took to get funds for the flood victims appropriated, according to Wheat. The legal process went from trial court to appeals court and finally to the state Supreme Court, and the plaintiffs won at every legal setting.
Even with those legal victories, however, state lawmakers ultimately had to approve the payout, and many times the funds just were not available due to budget crunches, Wheat said. This year, however, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and in both houses of the Legislature wanted to get this done, as did the Governor’s Office, he said.