Residents and parish officials are lobbying the Army Corps of Engineers to include Ascension and St. James parishes in a massive hurricane protection project.
The Advocate reports the Army Corps met this past week with local interests as part of a public-comment process associated with the hurricane and storm damage risk reduction study.
A draft report on the project was released in August.
The plan, known as Alternative C, recommends construction of an 18.3-mile, $447 million series of levees, flood walls and pump stations through northern St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes, protecting Mississippi River communities from Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas storm surge.
The plan also calls for home elevation requirements and possible buyouts in St. James Parish.