St. Joseph water water cleanup bill rejected over audit failure

The House solidly rejected 18-68, a bill to improve standards on public water systems in certain parts of northeastern Louisiana and was prompted by residents of St. Joseph whose water is undrinkable.  
It was Monroe Democrat Marcus Hunter’s three attempt to address the issue with House Bill 823.  Opponents have been concerned about the geographic scope of the problem and the costs to remedy it. 
Hunter amended the bill to delay the implementation of the water-quality mandates until 2020, or until the parish gets federal or state funds to address the issue. The city of St. Joseph, under Mayor Edward Brown, has still not submitted a financial audit, legally prohibiting the state from giving the city funds to address the water crisis. 
Hunter claimed his bill would only affect the Tensas Parish water system, which other legislators questioned and disputed. Rep. Andy Anders, D-Vidalia, who has St. Joseph in his district, said the governor already has appointed an independent fiscal administrator to address the financial issues that prevented the city from getting funds to improve its water system. 
“This bill does not do anything to help the situation,” Anders said. 
As he did the last time the bill came up in the House, Rep. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, noted the Rural Water Association opposed the bill. Hunter said he reached out to the group for amendments to the bill, but it had been uncooperative. 
In earlier statements to Manship School News Service, Hunter said the opponents of his bill are more concerned with money than finding a solution to the problem.