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Happy birthday Jayson Delco, love, family and friends … Happy birthday Saturday to Mrs. Cathy, love, Reid.

Delta Biofuel has announced a $100 million final investment decision for the construction and start up of a full-scale renewable fuel production facility in Iberia Parish that will convert sugar cane waste into feedstock for low-emissions energy generation.

The company is expected to create 126 new direct jobs with an average salary of $62,500. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 149 indirect jobs, for a total 275 new jobs in the Acadiana region.

“Louisiana has emerged as a leader in renewable energy through continued investment and innovation,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “As one of the nation’s top producers of sugarcane, producing more than 2 million tons of raw sugar in 2022, it is only fitting that our state will lead the way in the production and export of this new renewable fuel source. Once again we see how the transition to cleaner energy creates investment, jobs and opportunities across multiple economic sectors and regions of our state.”

The facility will be the first of its kind in North America for its use of bagasse, a byproduct of sugar cane production, to manufacture biomass fuel pellets on a commercial scale that offer a lower-cost and stronger greenhouse gas reduction profile versus other biomass fuels, such as wood pellets, used in power generation.

“Delta is thrilled to reach this milestone and begin construction,” Delta Biofuel CEO Phil Keating said. “We look forward to putting waste bagasse to good use, solving a serious problem for the sugar industry and reducing GHG emissions. I’d like to thank Iberia Parish, One Acadiana and LED for helping us get this project off the ground. Of course, we could not have done this without the coordination and support from our sugar mill partners.”

The total capital expenditure is 43% higher than the $70 million investment that was anticipated when the project was first proposed in 2021.

The higher level of capital expenditure is reflective of increased labor and equipment cost, as well as Delta’s decision to increase the facility’s production capacity. 

“Iberia Parish is poised for growth and we are excited to hear that Delta Biofuels has reached this project milestone,” Iberia Parish President M. Larry Richard said. “We look forward to continuing progress with the project, the jobs it will create and the investment it will bring.”

Delta Biofuel expects to break ground in late June. When complete, the facility will have the ability to produce 340,000 metric tons of biomass fuel pellets annually.

Delta Biofuel has secured exclusive long-term agreements to acquire supplies of feedstock bagasse from five sugar mills in surrounding parishes. The company has long-term contracts primarily with power utility companies across Europe for the sale of more than 1.8 million tons of pellets over the next several years.

To secure the project, the state of Louisiana offered Delta Biofuel a competitive incentive package that includes the comprehensive workforce development solutions of
LED FastStart and a $1 million performance-based grant for infrastructure improvements. The company has been approved for the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption program and has applied for the Quality Jobs program.

“We are excited that this project has reached this significant milestone,” said Mike Tarantino, president and CEO of the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation. “Delta

Biofuel’s investment in Iberia Parish is another indication that our parish is growing and we look forward to welcoming them to our community.”

“We are thrilled about Delta Biofuel’s commitment to place their production facility in Iberia Parish, and we welcome them to Acadiana’s rich agribusiness and energy landscape,” One Acadiana President and CEO Troy Wayman said. “Their plan to source from nearby sugar mills in Iberia, St. Mary and St. Martin parishes is the perfect collaboration to create alternative fuel from previously unneeded bagasse. Congratulations to our partners in Iberia Parish on this project, which will have a great impact on the future of energy in our region.”

There’s the math inside the state budget, and then there’s the math to pass the state budget. 

Ask budget architects which fraction they fear the most in regard to the latter, and a few will likely tell you three-fourths. 

That’s the vote threshold for passing a bill that appropriates money during any special session that trails the adjournment of a term’s final regular session.

The quirky rule can be found in the Louisiana Constitution and will apply to the House and Senate should members fail to pass a budget during the regular session that adjourns in roughly two weeks.

To be certain, lawmakers have required extra time to pass budget bills in the past, but a special session this year would be an entirely different matter.

There are already difficulties involved in finding 70 votes (two-thirds) in the House during a regular session for just about anything. Now imagine trying to cobble together 79 votes (three-fourths) from the same chamber in a special session for the budget.

Legislative leaders are optimistic a deal can be struck on the budget and spending cap issue prior to sine die, or official adjournment, on June 8. Yet they also know the task will not be easy.

Where, exactly, that middle ground will be found is unknown. Both sides, for now, seem to be moving in opposite directions, but they could move back together over the issue of paying down state debt. 

Senate leaders and the Edwards Administration see a lot of value in deploying a pot of excess cash that just continues to grow, for everything from roads and bridges to deferred maintenance and, of course, debt payments.

Lawmakers went into this session knowing there was $1.9 billion in surplus funds available and now there’s another $806 million on the table. (The Revenue Estimating Conference recognized the additional money yesterday.)

Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, who’s sponsoring the resolution to bust the spending cap, is telling lawmakers the expenditure limit was created during a different era when surpluses were not the norm.

“We live in a different environment today,” he said during a speech from the Senate floor last week.

That much is evident in the House, where members of the Freedom Caucus and the Conservative Caucus have dismantled any efforts to bust the cap in the lower chamber. House conservatives, however, remain interested in paying down state debt, an area the Senate might be willing to compromise on during these closing days.

While a two-thirds vote looks possible in the Senate for cap-busting, Republicans in the House are describing their shared stance of opposition as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to implement conservative budgeting practices.

“We have what may be a once in lifetime transformational opportunity to use surplus funds to benefit our state for years,” Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, said during a recent interview. “I believe that our House is strongly in support of not exceeding the expenditure limit, paying down significant debt and controlling the growth rate of state government, while providing resources for teacher pay raises.”

The budget passed by the House deflated the teacher pay raise proposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards and kicked the task of an increase to local governments.

The House budget also kept in place state-funded priorities in early childhood education, but failed to maintain federally-funded gains.
This year, the budget is a statement. Moreover, some Republicans are treating the spending document as a proverbial line in the sand, a place where ideology trumps politics.

Echoing Johnson, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, said, “The action taken by the Louisiana House of Representatives… is the most significant step toward fiscal responsibility in Louisiana in my lifetime.”

I’ve used the above quote from Seabaugh before in this column, but I wanted to include it once more to underscore Johnson’s comments.

Many conservatives in the House do not view this session as just another session. And they do not view this budget debate as just another budget debate.

What happens next will certainly be interesting — and it may very well help set the tone for budget negotiations during the new term of state government that begins in January.

For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow.

Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna told Facebook followers Wednesday that trucks belonging to him and his wife were burglarized. Three guns were stolen, said Dragna, who is offering a $5,000 reward for identifying the culprit.

In his post, Dragna said that on his way home 8:15-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, he saw two people on a sidewalk on Justa Street. One wore a black hoodie, the other a white hoodie.

Dragna asked anyone with surveillance cameras on Justa to examine the video to see if the two are shown.

His own surveillance video showed a white male wearing shorts and a black hoodie about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Dragna believes the burglar used key fob booster, which amplifies a key fob signal so that access to a vehicle can be gained even if the fob is some distance away. There was no broken glass, he said.

The stolen weapons are a Ruger p89 9mm pistol, and S&P 9mm pistol and a Beretta .380 pistol.

"Please call me directly," Dragna's post said. In a subsequent post, he gave the phone number 985-397-2274.

The Morgan City Police Department released video Wednesday, saying it is investigating vehicle burglaries in the Lakeside Subdivision area.

"Anyone who may be able to identify the suspect or provide video footage is asked to contact the Morgan City Police Department Detectives Division at 985-380-4605.