The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Plaquemines Parish Government finalized the Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) for the New Orleans to Venice (NOV) Project. The NOV PPA was officially executed on June 22, with the state of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board for $1.457 million, enabling the Corps to move forward with modifications to the existing project features and incorporating the Plaquemines Parish Non-Federal Levees (NFL) into the New Orleans to Venice (NOV) Federal project.

The signed NOV PPA allows the parish, state and the Corps to move forward with construction of the project.

The purpose of the New Orleans to Venice project is to provide storm risk reduction for Plaquemines Parish by upgrading Federal levees using the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction (HSDRRS) design criteria and incorporating certain Non-Federal Levees (NFL) into the Federal project.

The NOV Federal levees are located on the Eastbank of Plaquemines from Phoenix to Bohemia (back-levee only) and on the Westbank from St. Jude to Venice (back-levee and co-located Mississippi River Levees).
Improvements to the existing NOV project include flood and protected side straddles and shifts, some floodwalls, sector gates at Empire Lock and a floodgate at Empire.
The current NOV project includes approximately 37 miles of back levee modifications, fronting protection and two sector gates on the Westbank; and fronting protection at two locations on the Eastbank.

North of the NOV project, 32 miles of existing non-federal levees were previously constructed by Plaquemines Parish and private residents. These back-levees run from Oakville to St. Jude.
In the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane season Congress funded an effort to incorporate the Plaquemines Parish non-federal levees into the NOV project. The current project includes approximately 20 miles of levee replacements or modifications and a tie-in to the Mississippi River Levees. Improvements to the existing NFL project include flood and protected side straddles and shifts using the HSDRRS design criteria, as well as fronting protection and some floodwalls.