Could the Red River Waterway Commission build an RV park next to a boat ramp?

Plain-English summary

A senator asked whether the Red River Waterway Commission could develop and build an RV park. The commission confirmed that the proposed park would be built alongside or in conjunction with a boat ramp on Bayou Pierre. The AG said an RV park with that boat ramp was a “related facility” under the commission's enabling law, so the commission had authority to develop and construct it.

The statute described the commission's general purpose as establishing, operating, and maintaining a navigable waterway. The AG read that purpose alongside provisions authorizing port and related facilities and directing liberal construction of the chapter. Its conclusion addressed the RV park tied to this boat ramp; the opinion did not analyze a standalone RV park elsewhere.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical summary

Red River Waterway Commission

The AG said the commission's authority extended beyond work directly on the navigable channel to port and related facilities. It placed the proposed RV park and boat ramp within that category and concluded that the commission could develop and construct them.

Recreation planners

The opinion's answer depended on the stated connection between the RV park and Bayou Pierre boat ramp. It did not assess a separate camping project or specify design, permitting, or financing requirements.

Common questions

Could the commission build the proposed RV park?

Yes. The AG said the RV park with its accompanying boat ramp was a related facility under La. R.S. 34:2308.

Was the commission limited to maintaining the waterway itself?

No. The opinion read the enabling law as also authorizing the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of port and related facilities.

Did the opinion approve an RV park without a boat ramp?

It did not decide that question. The commission confirmed that the project in the request would be built alongside or in conjunction with a boat ramp.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 34:2302 stated the commission's navigable-waterway purpose. La. R.S. 34:2308 described its authority concerning port and related facilities; La. R.S. 34:2309 granted powers needed or convenient to its purposes. La. R.S. 34:2317 directed liberal construction of the chapter. The AG applied those provisions to the proposed recreation facility.

Citations

• La. R.S. 34:2302: commission's general purpose.
• La. R.S. 34:2308: port and related facilities.
• La. R.S. 34:2309: powers needed or convenient for commission purposes.
• La. R.S. 34:2317: liberal-construction direction.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0011

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWEll
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

APR 11 2013
OPINION 13-0011

72 NAVIGABLE WATERS
92-A-A RECREATION - Parks, Playgrounds, Playground & Recreational Boards Youth Programs
172 WATER & WATER COURSES - Boats, Motorboats & Vessels
Senator Dan Claitor
172-A WATER DISTRICTS
District 16
7520 Perkins Road, Suite 160 La. R.S. 34:2301 et seq, 34: 2302, 34: 2308, 34:2309, 34:2317
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
An RV park with a boat ramp is a "related facility" under La. R.S. 34:2308,
and therefore the RRWC has the authority to develop and construct a recreational facility despite the fact that the general stated object and purpose of the Red River Waterway Commission is to establish, operate
Dear Senator Claitor: and maintain a navigable waterway system.

You have requested an opinion of this Office regarding the whether the Red River Waterway Commission ("RRWC") has the authority to develop and construct an RV park. While you reference only the development and construction of the actual RV park, the RRWC has confirmed that this RV park is specifically being built alongside or in conjunction with a boat ramp on Bayou Pierre.

As you note in your request, La. R.S. 34:2302 states that the RRWC was created for the "object and purpose of establishing, operating and maintaining, individually or in cooperation with the federal government, the state and its various agencies, subdivisions and public bodies, a navigable waterway system to be known as the Red River Waterway."

La. R.S. 34: 2308 states that:

[t]he [RRWC] shall constitute an instrumentality of the State of Louisiana exercising public and essential governmental functions; and the exercise by the commission of the powers conferred by this Chapter in the establishment, operation and maintenance of the waterway and the acquisition, construction, operation and maintenance of the various port and related facilities hereinafter authorized shall be deemed and held to be essential governmental functions of the state of Louisiana.

La. R.S. 34:2309 further states, in pertinent part, that:

In addition to the powers and authority elsewhere granted in this Chapter, the [RRWC] is hereby granted, shall have, and may exercise all powers

Page 2

OPINION 13-0011
Senator Dan Claitor
Page 2

necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes. including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following:

(8) To make and collect reasonable charges for the use of all structures, works, locks, wharves, anchorages and special facilities constructed and administered by the commission ...

While La. R.S. 34:2302 clearly states that the general object and purpose of the RRWC is to establish, operate, and maintain a navigable waterway system, the RRWC's enabling legislation clearly gives it the authority to acquire, construct, operate, and maintain various port and related facilities, and the ability to make and collect reasonable charges for the use of said facilities. 1

L~. R.S. 34:2317 states that "[t]his Chapter [La. R.S. 34:2301, et seq., entitled "Red River Waterway District"] shall be liberally construed to promote the purposes for which it is enacted. While the object and purpose of the RRWC is generally to "establish, operate. and maintain a navigable waterway system," the Legislature clearly provided the RRWC with the authority to create "related facilties. ,,2 Given that these statutes are to be liberally construed to promote the purposes for which they were enacted, this Office is of the opinion that a recreational facility such as an RV park is a "related facility" under La. R.S. 34:2308.Therefore, since an RV park with a boat ramp is a "related facility" under La. R.S. 34:2308, it is our opinion that the RRWC has the authority to develop and construct such a facility.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. If you should have any questions about the response contained herein, please feel 'free to contact our office.

Yours very truly,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL

BY:~~ _ _
Assistant Attorney General

JDC/DDH, JR/jv

1
See La. RS. 34:2308-2309, supra.
2
See La. RS. 34:2301 and La. RS. 2308, respectively.