Revisions to current legislation planned

BY ELEANOR EVANS

THE DAILY NEWS

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After listening to the concerns of those in opposition to a reservoir in Washington Parish, State Senator Ben Nevers and State Representative Harold Ritchie have promised the public to work on legislative revisions to ease the burden on some property owners in the area.

"We want to better define some of the areas of concern," Nevers said, including a concern that "such as the threat of expropriation would only be a threat for property that would be in the pool of water or for the construction of the project."

House Bill 216, introduced by Nevers before state legislation in 2003, does not specify what land may be taken in the acquisition of reservoir property, should a reservoir be built in the parish.

Nevers wants to amend the bill to clarify that "any property that would join the reservoir to the water line would remain" in the hands of the owner, he said. "If people didn't want to sell it, it would remain theirs," he said. "There would be no expropriation for any other purpose; we're going to define that more specifically for changes in the legislation. That was the intent of the legislation that was passed."

Current legislation provides that the reservoir district has the authority to acquire land for use by the reservoir, but does not specify whether land acquisitions encompass only the reservoir structure, or if property adjacent to the reservoir can be acquired as well.

Nevers said he aims to clarify that concern during the next legislative session.

Another issue of concern from residents, Nevers said, is the price at which any acquired property can be purchased by the district. "Some believe they will offer you the assessed value for your property," Nevers said.

But that simply isn't true. Only an independent appraiser can determine the property's value, he said.

Residents in potential site areas have also voiced concerns on a legislative act written by Sen. Francis Thompson, a legislator from the Delhi area and the brother of Reservoir Consultant Mike Thompson.

House Bill No. 1136 initially states that when a state agency deems it best to resell acquired property, it "first shall offer to sell whatever rights it acquired, at the fair market falue, back to" the original property owner. Through Legislative Act No. 523, the provision no longer applied to reservoir districts.

Nevers said he will push for revisions to his own legislation that would prevent property from being "sold to any third property."

Nevers said his and Ritchie's "wishes are that a reservoir is feasible…that we build something that has the least impact on individuals and the environment as possible."

Nevers wants concerned persons in agribusiness to be assured their livelihoods are safe as well. "We want the impact to be as minimum as possible," he said. "Certainly our intention is not to take agricultural producing properties out of production."