[StBernard] LRA Reports more than $312 Million Invested in Parishes Most Devastated By Hurricane Rita

[Westley Annis]

LRA Reports more than $312 Million Invested in Parishes Most Devastated By Hurricane Rita 


BATON ROUGE (September 18, 2007) - Louisiana has invested more than $312 million in federal construction dollars in Cameron, Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes, the three parishes most impacted by Hurricane Rita in September of 2005. More than $174 million has gone to homeowners, more than $16 million to small business owners and hundreds of millions in future investments are on the way.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) outlined recovery allocations and dollars spent on the ground today in a supplement to last year's Rita Report. Released one year ago, The Rita Report examined the scope of the disaster and assessed the status of the recovery effort in areas such as infrastructure, economic activity, community and social activity, housing, health and hospitals and education.

"The generous investments in rebuilding Southwest Louisiana combined with the hard work of the people in the communities here are illustrated in each re-opened school, each repaired house and each project still under construction," said. John T. Landry, chair of the LRA's Infrastructure Task Force. "Much work remains, but we are well on our way to a safer and stronger Louisiana than ever before."

Click here to download the report <http://keelson.eatel.net/websites/la.gov/action.cfm?md=communication&task=addClick&msg_ID=4396&ID=dwi%7EeXitnYn%7D&redirect=http://lra.louisiana.gov/assets/twoyear/RitaReportUpdate_FINAL.pdf> . Highlights include:

*	The Road Home program has disbursed more than $240 million to 5,398 homeowners in parishes affected by Hurricane Rita, with the majority of this funding - more than $174 million - benefiting 4,023 homeowners in the three most devastated parishes.
*	The LRA's Small Rental program awarded more than $5.9 million in its first round to rebuild rental housing in the area. 
*	The Southwest region was within 22 employers of its pre-storm employer level by the fourth quarter of 2006, but work remains to help businesses recover. Cameron Parish was the most affected in the region, down 22.5% employers as of the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to pre-Rita.
*	Under the FEMA Public Assistance Program, Cameron, Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes are eligible for more than $231 million in debris removal and rebuilding. Louisiana has paid $112.7 million to these three governments through the PA program, which reimburses state and local governments for rebuilding work. The state pays out funds as local governments request them. As of mid-September, Louisiana had paid out 99 percent of rebuilding requests from local governments recovering from Rita.

"The state of Louisiana is working both with FEMA and with local governments to help get reconstruction dollars on the ground as quickly and responsibly as possible," said Tom Henning, chair of the LRA's Environmental Task Force. "More than $118 million remains to be invested in the infrastructure in the three parishes most affected by Rita, and this is good news for our communities in Southwest Louisiana."

Construction is nearing completion on South Cameron Memorial Hospital, a new $22 million facility financed through a combination of FEMA funds and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) in accordance with a plan approved by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, the LRA and the Louisiana Legislature. 


"The hospital in Cameron parish will be the largest piece of new construction completed since Hurricane Rita. It is a symbol of hope for the future of the communities in Cameron parish and a testament to Louisiana's commitment to rebuild," said LRA Board Member David Richard of Cameron parish.

Cameron Parish also recently celebrated a groundbreaking for Johnson Bayou Rural Health Clinic. This first-of-its-kind health-care facility is set to open in October. Because of a unique public-private partnership between Houston-based Cheniere Energy - which built and equipped the building - and the Stream family - which donated the land - the clinic will address a critical a long-term need in an area where people either had to travel to another parish or cross the Calcasieu Lake channel by ferry to reach a doctor. The facility will be owned by the parish and run by the West Cameron Calcasieu Hospital Group, based in Sulphur.

The LRA approved recovery plans for Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in September and for Vermilion parish in July, freeing up $16.2 million in planning funds for local recovery projects in these parishes.

"I am optimistic about the future of our region because of these visionary plans," said Dennis Stine, a recently appointed LRA board member from Lake Charles. "Because local governments took the time to plan for the future and gather input from citizens in their communities, they can now access millions in funding to move their plans from paper to production."

In August, the LRA reported on the status of federal funds for the recovery, noting that the $116 billion the federal government committed to the response of the 2005 hurricane season targeted five states - Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Florida - recovering from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The LRA estimates the federal government directed roughly $60 billion to Louisiana, with most of these funds going toward short-term emergency response needs after the hurricanes. These include relocation assistance, emergency housing and debris removal efforts, as well as payouts to homeowners who had flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Louisiana's share of actual federal reconstruction money for "bricks and sticks" rebuilding of permanent infrastructure is estimated to be $26 billion. Of this, almost $7 billion has been spent for reconstruction across South Louisiana. 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. 

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