A.(1) The board shall adopt bylaws for its own government and for the government of its employees. It shall adopt rules or regulations for comprehensive drainage, flood control and water resources development, reservoir, and diversion canal systems. Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule or regulation by the board, the proposed rule or regulation shall be submitted to the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works. Oversight review of rules and regulations shall be conducted by the respective committees provided for in this Paragraph. The board shall keep a record of its proceedings, which shall be published after each meeting in a journal to be selected by it. The board at each regular session shall examine all accounts or operations of the board and determine what work shall be undertaken. All work shall be advertised to be let out by means of sealed proposals to the lowest responsible bidder, reserving to the board authority to reject all bids. In case of emergency, the board may make contracts for the control of flooding without advertisement and sealed proposals.

            (2) Prior to January 1, 2026, the board shall promulgate regulations for watershed management within the district, insofar as they affect watershed management, that address the following:

            (a) Planning.

            (b) Permitting.

            (c) Selection of and performing projects and programs.

            (d) Resolution of conflicts among agencies.

            (e) Use of best available science.

            (f) Outreach to the public and agencies.

            (g) Coordination with state agencies and political subdivisions regarding watershed management.

            (h) Identifying, seeking, receiving, and expending federal and other funding for planning and projects.

            (i) Providing assistance to political subdivisions in planning, designing and constructing projects, and identifying and obtaining funding.

            (j) Agreements with public and private entities to identify, seek, receive, and expend funds.

            (k) Maintaining projects and programs once complete.

            (l) Providing an appeal process.

            (m) Defining qualifications for staff and contractors.

            (n) Creating and managing a wetland mitigation bank, if deemed feasible by the board, on lands owned by the district on January 1st following June 16, 2022.

            B. The board shall be vested with the control of all public drainage, flood control and water resources development, reservoirs, and diversion canals in the district. The board shall have the authority in connection with the proposed construction of any reservoir to have conducted a comprehensive study to determine the economic impact on the parishes of East Feliciana and St. Helena of accompanying commercial and residential development and growth. The board shall have the authority to require the office of engineering to lay out, furnish estimates, and perform all engineering work necessary to the establishment of adequate drainage, flood control, and water resources development.

            C. The board shall have the authority to construct and maintain drainage works of all types either in cooperation with one or more parishes, municipalities, drainage districts, or other special districts within its territorial jurisdiction or upon its own undertaking. Projects shall require approval of two-thirds of the total voting membership. All other decisions, including technical, planning, and permitting decisions, shall require approval by a simple majority of the total voting membership.

            D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section to the contrary, all work undertaken pursuant to the authority granted by this Section shall be constructed in accordance with the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 38:2211 et seq.

            E. The board shall have the authority to enter upon any lands, waters, and premises in the district for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, examinations, and appraisals, as it may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this Chapter, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass nor shall entry for such purpose be deemed a trespass under any expropriation proceeding which may be pending, provided that ten days registered notice in the case of resident owners and twenty-five days registered notice in the case of non-resident owners be given to the owner of record of such lands, waters, or premises as reflected by the parish assessment rolls. Notice shall be mailed by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the owner, as shown on the assessment records. The district shall make reimbursement for any actual damage to such lands, waters, or premises as a result of such activities.

            F. The board may expropriate property subject to and in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 48:441-460, where applicable. The owner of residential property or commercial property, including homes, businesses, barns, outbuildings and churches, shall be paid the replacement cost of any such property expropriated by the board.

            G. The board shall develop and implement a plan to manage and maintain all waterways in the district, of state or regional concern, in relation to matters impacting watershed management in the district.

            H.(1) The board shall develop a master plan for comprehensive drainage, flood control, and water resource management within the district (“watershed management”) through the construction and management of projects and programs, including planning, permitting, development, and waterway management. The plan shall address watershed management from both short-term and long-range perspectives and shall incorporate structural, nonstructural, management, and institutional components of both efforts. The plan shall include a list of projects and programs required for implementation, a schedule and estimated costs, and explain why each project or program was selected and how it advances plan objectives. The plan shall be consistent with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Master Plan. It shall also provide for public outreach and public hearings in at least northern, central, and southern portions of the district. The plan shall be subject to legislative approval annually by the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works. The board shall submit its initial plan prior to the 2025 legislative session and shall review, revise, and amend its plan every six years thereafter.

            (2) All political subdivisions within the bounds of the district shall administer their regulatory practices, programs, projects, contracts, grants, and all other functions vested in them in a manner consistent with the master plan and shall be consistent with public interest to the maximum extent possible.

            I. The board shall develop annual plans for watershed management. Each annual plan shall include, at minimum, a three-year projection of funding for projects and programs, including funding sources. The plan shall be consistent with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Master Plan. The plan shall provide for public outreach and public hearings in at least northern, central, and southern portions of the district. The plan shall be subject to legislative approval annually by the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works. The board shall submit its initial annual plan by January 1, 2024.

            J. The board shall place a heavy focus and constant emphasis on plans that include project inventories, implementation plans, and strategies to maximize the use of innovative funding strategies such as public-private partnerships, pursuit of grant funding, capital outlay requests, and millage initiatives to the extent necessary to timely fund and implement the board’s planned projects and programs.

            K. The board shall report annually to the parish presidents and parish governing authorities representing the parishes making up the district, the Legislature of Louisiana, and to a committee of representatives and senators whose districts include any portion of the Amite River Basin.

            L. Each parish within the district shall submit its initial hazard mitigation plan by January 1, 2023, and thereafter shall submit a hazard mitigation plan to the board every five years. Each parish within the district shall cooperate with the board to ensure that the impacts of drainage, flood control, and water resource management are considered in the development of each hazard mitigation plan. The board shall ensure each parish hazard mitigation plan identifies how to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Rating System (CRS) or any successor or similar program or how to maximize participation in the CRS. The board shall also consider and prioritize policies and programs that can reduce flood risk and reduce flood insurance premiums. The board shall participate and assist in the development of each parish hazard mitigation plan within the district.

            M. Within the areas of the district that are concurrent with the limits of the Pontchartrain Levee District as set forth in La. Rev. Stat. 38:291(L), the Pontchartrain Levee District shall have primary jurisdiction. The Amite River Basin Drainage and Water Conservation District shall not initiate any project or program within the limits of the Pontchartrain Levee District without consulting with and receiving approval from the board of commissioners of the Pontchartrain Levee District.

            Added by Acts 1981, No. 896, §1; Acts 1984, No. 907, §2; Acts 1985, No. 606, §1; Acts 2012, No. 753, §5; Acts 2022, No. 490, §1, eff. June 16, 2022.