[StBernard] Action Plans Published for Review

[Westley Annis]

BATON ROUGE, LA- The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) and Office of Community Development (OCD) published action plans today for four economic development programs and an amendment to the Local Government Emergency Infrastructure Program, marking the opening of the official 10-day public comment period.

As outlined, these "action plans" propose expenditure of $670.5 million in Louisiana's Supplemental Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). The funding is part of the initial allotment of $6.2 billion in CDBG funds appropriated by Congress in December for Louisiana's hurricane recovery. Another $4.2 billion is currently under consideration in Congress. Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and the LRA have committed to use CDBG dollars to repair and rebuild the state's permanent housing stock; urge reinvestment in multi-family rental units; rebuild infrastructure, and provide short-term capital assistance and investment for the long-term recovery and growth of Louisiana's economy.

The action plans propose the expenditure of $170.5 million for four economic development programs which include:

*	$95 million for a Long Term Recovery Loan Program to leverage an estimated $550 million in funding for fixed assets, equipment, and working capital; 

	

*	$38 million for a Small Firm Recovery Loan and Grant Program targeting firms that do not qualify for conventional financing and/or loans from the Small Business Administration; 

	
*	$28 million for a Louisiana Tourism Recovery Program to revive the second largest industry in the state, in terms of employment; and

*	$9.5 million to provide technical assistance to small firms seeking to recover in a changed, post-storms marketplace or to start new businesses in the impacted communities.

"The LRA is committed to supporting the renewal of the economy in Louisiana, particularly in those industries, small businesses and cultural destinations that make Louisiana such a wonderful place to live, work, visit and do business," said Matt Stuller, Chairman of the LRA Economic Development and Workforce Training Taskforce. "The investments in these programs will go a long way toward the recovery and rebirth of our economy."

The action plans also propose the expenditure of $500 million for the increase and expansion of the Local Government Emergency Infrastructure program. Ninety five million dollars was initially set aside for this program to assist parishes that have adopted the latest available base flood elevations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and new statewide building standards to repair and rebuild their infrastructure. This amendment proposes increasing the total allotment by $500 million, based on a careful review of damages with FEMA and local governments. 


>From this, $200 million will be set aside for repair and rebuilding projects for Primary and Secondary Education Infrastructure.


*	Funding provided under this infrastructure program will assist parishes in matching FEMA assistance to fund their most pressing infrastructure repair/replacement projects. 

	
*	Some examples include: rebuilding schools such as Cameron High School in Cameron Parish which was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita and repairing the broken water systems such as the fractured system in New Orleans, which is leaking more than 85 million gallons of drinking water into the ground every day as a result of damages it sustained during Hurricane Katrina. 

	
*	This amendment also proposes expansion of the program so that these dollars can be used to provide funds for infrastructure repairs that are not eligible for FEMA public assistance projects.

	
*	Some examples include: bringing structures up to code and rebuilding uninsured or underinsured facilities. 

	

	"The increase and expansion of this program will help local governments even more in the rebuilding and repair of thousands of schools, hospitals, water systems and other forms of infrastructure that were devastated by last year's hurricanes," said John T. Landry, Chairman of the LRA Infrastructure and Transportation Taskforce.

"The education infrastructure in Louisiana was heavily impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and we know that parents will not bring their children back until we can provide them with better educational opportunities than before," said Linda Johnson, Chairman of the LRA Education Taskforce. "This infusion of funds is critical to achieving our mission of rebuilding a public educational system that is not only safer and stronger, but also provides students with a first-class education." 

Citizens, community leaders and elected officials can access the plans online by clicking here and opening Action Plan Amendment 2 <http://www.doa.la.gov/cdbg/dractionplans.htm>  or request a copy by phone by calling (225) 342-7412.

After the public comment period and the programs receive final approval from Governor Blanco, the LRA and the Louisiana Legislature, these action plans will be delivered to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington for final approval. 

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Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, displacing more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. In the aftermath of these storms, Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco established the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) to serve as the planning and coordinating body for Louisiana's recovery. This 33-member body is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world.