[StBernard] Louisiana Hurricane Recovery Panel Releases Initial Report

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana Hurricane Recovery Panel Releases Initial Report

Leading Rebuilding Effort, Securing Federal Aid, Reconnecting with Evacuees
among Major Accomplishments 


BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Recovery Authority released its initial
progress report today. The report highlights the agency's role over the past
three months in leading community efforts to plan and rebuild, securing
federal aid, and re-connecting with evacuees displaced by hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. 

It also cites recovery progress in a number of areas, from school enrollment
to small business relief. The 19-page report is available on the Internet at
www.lra.louisiana.gov <"http://www.lra.louisiana.gov"> . 

"I charged the LRA with helping to create a recovery and rebuilding plan
that will benefit the entire state - to reach for new ideas, forget old
limits and speak on behalf of all Louisianans," Gov. Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco said. "I asked the LRA to coordinate recovery efforts in ways that
avoided duplication and increased efficiency, to not simply re-create what
the storms destroyed but to make the new Louisiana safer, stronger and
smarter than ever before. I am pleased with the progress."

Blanco created the LRA in October 2006 to address the short- and long-term
issues of recovery. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted hundreds of
billions of dollars in damages, left more than 785,000 Louisiana residents
displaced and about 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses destroyed. She
appointed a 26-member board of diverse members with close ties to Louisiana
and named Andy Kopplin, then her chief of staff, as its executive director.

Some of the accomplishments cited include:

*	Securing Louisiana's share of $29 billion in federal hurricane
relief to repair levees and address critical housing, infrastructure and
economic development needs.
	
*	Supplying critical leadership on the establishment of statewide
building codes.
	
*	Tying federal dollars to parish adoption of FEMA's new flood
elevation guidelines.
	
*	Leading the rebuilding effort and working with local governments,
national architecture and design associations and world-renowned planners to
build a better future for residents.
	
*	Creating ways to re-connect with evacuees, including teaming with
FEMA to hold 30 open house meetings in Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee and
Texas.

The report also contains recovery-related data gathered from a number of
sources. Among them is information about overall storm impact, federal
funding, economic incentives, Hazard Mitigation and Community Development
Block Grant programs, state recovery team successes, LRA task force
priorities and actions, task force membership and other useful storm-related
statistics. It also contains community input data and information about
Louisiana's multi-layered accountability system for the responsible
management of recovery funds. 

In addition to tangible results, the LRA has also produced something that is
critical to the success of the recovery. The LRA has helped Louisiana to
communicate about its needs with a single voice.

"The LRA's responsibility is to assist in giving voice and support to
Louisianans' concerns and aspirations, to speak for those scattered
throughout the nation, aching to return home, and to help them find
opportunity where they once saw only devastation," said LRA Chairman Norman
Francis, the long-time president of Xavier University in New Orleans.

"As leaders of the state's recovery, it is up to our board to coordinate
efforts with governments at all levels and to make sure that when Louisiana
speaks to the world, it speaks about collective needs and intentions,"
Francis said. "Our 26-member board takes this mission to heart and has
forged partnerships with cities and parish governments in shaping state and
federal priorities."

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The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body
that is working to plan for Louisiana's future. In partnership with local,
state and federal interests, the LRA is working to identify and prioritize
short and long-term needs of the recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

www.lra.louisiana.gov <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov>