Gov. Bobby Jindal and Gen. Douglas O’Dell announced that the state with be granted a 30-year deferment of the nearly $2 billion that the state and New Orleans area parishes would have been forced to pay in three years for flood protection.

Before the agreement, Louisiana would have been forced to pay $1.8 billion in flood protection funds in three years, which would be used along with an additional $5.8 billion from the federal government.  However, the federal funds would be withheld if Louisiana did not put it its share. 

State leaders, including the governor, said that the short payment period could cripple flood protection projects. Jindal said that the state had no qualms with paying its share of flood protection; it was the short span that was worrisome.

“This flexibility will relieve us of a heavy financial burden that would have been very difficult to meet.  It is a real commitment to the rebuilding of our levee protection and system and allows us to work aggressively on other hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects,” Jindal said.

Inside the Superdome, where Jindal made the announcement, he expressed great delight and relief in the 30-year payment plan, adding that it will free up money not only for flood protection, which includes levee construction and coastal restoration, for the New Orleans area but also for the rest of the state.

“I have said all along, that all we were asking for is what we rightly deserved.  Without this agreement, our ability to continue to effectively plan for our future, improve our schools, train our workforce and improve health care would have been burdened due to huge levee payments each year,” Jindal said.

Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and St. Charles were the five parishes included in the payments.

The first payment is now due in 2011 and will run until 2041.  The state will have to pay approximately $100 million for the first payment.