La. Admin. Code tit. 56 § III-301

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section III-301 - Sequence

A. This Section describes the sequence of events involved in implementing the Statewide Flood Control Program. The sequence begins and ends each year during the Regular Session of the Legislature. Specific procedures are described briefly in this Section and are presented more fully in the pre-application, application, and evaluation of proposed projects and distribution of funds sections of this document.

1. Pre-Application and Resolution. Sponsoring authorities are to complete the pre-application, and must submit their completed pre-applications and resolutions to the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Engineering, Public Works and Water Resources (DOTD) not later than 4 p.m. on May 1. Pre-applications received after May 1 will not be eligible for the program in the current year, but will be eligible for review during the next year. Pre-applications must include documentation of the flooding problem in order to be considered.

2. Evaluation Committee Review of Pre-Applications (May 1-June 1)

a. Pre-applications will be reviewed and screened by the Evaluation Committee. The reasons for the review are to determine whether there is documented evidence of flood damages; whether the sponsoring authority is requesting DOTD assistance in preparing the full application; whether the proposed solution (if such a solution has been developed at this time) is eligible for funding under this program; and whether the sponsoring authority is willing to assume responsibility for its share of the cost, including new rights-of-way, operation and maintenance costs, and other obligations, within 4 years of acceptance into the program.

b. Ineligible projects under this program will include those which:

i. do not reduce existing flood damages;

ii. encourage additional development of flood prone areas;

iii. increase the likelihood of upstream, downstream, or adjacent flood problems;

iv. have a total construction cost of less than $100,000; or

v. primary purpose is to provide protection against coastal storm surges.

c. All pre-applications that are determined to be ineligible by the Evaluation Committee will be returned with appropriate comments by June 1. All eligible pre-applications will remain on file until a formal application is submitted or for a period of four subsequent funding years. The pre-application evaluation criteria for DOTD assistance are described in the Pre-Application Section.

d. Pre-applications that have been determined to be eligible and that may move on to the application stage include:

i. pre-applications submitted by sponsoring authorities with a population of more than 50,000;

ii. pre-applications from sponsoring authorities to receive assistance from DOTD in the application stage;

iii. pre-applications from sponsoring authorities eligible for assistance from DOTD in the application stage that cannot be handled by DOTD in time for the current funding year that chose to prepare their own applications.

iv. pre-applications from sponsoring authorities seeking participation in the Rural Grant Opportunity Program must meet the requirements of Subchapter D. §327

e. Pre-applications in the third group may be processed in the application stage by DOTD in time for the next year's funding. Applications on which DOTD initiates work will receive increased priority for assistance in application preparation in the following funding years. The sponsoring authorities need not wait for DOTD assistance. However, they may prepare and submit their own applications.

f. At the end of the pre-application review period, applicants will be notified of the status of their pre-applications. The sponsoring authorities seeking DOTD assistance in preparing an application will be informed by letter whether they:

i. will receive DOTD assistance in time for the current funding cycle; or

ii. will not receive assistance at this time and must compete for assistance again the following year.

g. Authorities completing their own applications may automatically move into the application stage unless the proposed solution is not eligible as a project under the program. If the proposed solution is not consistent with the program's objectives, the Evaluation Committee may suggest alternative solutions which must be addressed in order for the application to be eligible.

3. Application Preparation (June 1-October 1)

a. Applications may be submitted anytime between June 1 and October 1, but must be received by DOTD no later than 4 p.m. October 1, in order to be considered for funding during the upcoming legislative session. Applications received after this deadline will not be eligible for the current year's program. Applications for which pre-applications were received and approved from the previous year(s) may also be accepted during this period, provided all other procedures and deadlines have been met and four years have not elapsed since the pre-application submittal.

b. On request, DOTD will prepare applications for eligible sponsoring authorities to the extent possible. All applications must adhere to the methodologies described in the instructions contained in the Statewide Flood Control Procedures Manual.

4. Evaluation Committee Review of Applications (October 1-April 1)

a. During this six-month period, the Evaluation Committee will review and evaluate all completed applications in order to make recommendations to the Joint Legislative Committee on Transportation, Highways, and Public Works (Joint Legislative Committee) for funding. Applications will be divided into urban and rural categories. Applications for projects in the eleven urban areas comprise the urban category, as shown in the Figure 1. and compete against all other urban projects for funding. All other applications will be grouped by funding district as shown in Figure 2. Proposed projects will be evaluated and ranked based on criteria established by the Evaluation Committee.

b. Projects recommended to the Joint Legislative Committee will include a mix of those occurring in each rural funding district as well as those for urban areas of the state. The method for allocating funding percentages within each district and the method for allocating total program funds to the various districts are presented in Subchapter D, Evaluation of Proposed Projects and Distribution of Funds.

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5. Public Hearings (February-March). As part of the application evaluation process, the Joint Legislative Committee will hold public hearings in locations convenient to each funding district. The purpose of the hearings will be to receive comments from the public on the preliminary recommendations of the Evaluation Committee. After the hearings, the Evaluation Committee will incorporate public comments into its evaluation, complete the project evaluations, complete the project evaluations, and submit a priority ordered list of projects to the Joint Legislative Committee.

6. Legislative Process (March-Regular Session). From the list of projects recommended by the Evaluation Committee, the Joint Legislative Committee will recommend to the legislature a construction program to be funded during the regular session. Projects recommended by the Evaluation Committee but not funded will remain active and will automatically be included in the recommended projects for the next year and receive additional points in the evaluation scoring procedure. Applications for projects that are not recommended will be returned to the sponsoring authorities with reasons for rejection.

La. Admin. Code tit. 56, § III-301

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Public Works, LR 5:561 (May 1985), repromulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Public Works, LR 31:942 (April 2005), amended LR 35:2849 (December 2009), Amended LR 461235 (9/1/2020).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 38:90.1 et. seq.