[StBernard] FEMA Grants Money for St. Bernard Port Repairs

[Westley Annis]

NEW ORLEANS, Ill. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today
$1.86 million in funding for repairs at the St. Bernard Port Harbor and
Terminal District. 

These federal dollars will repair damages to the office spaces in the
warehouse at the Port Harbor. Following Hurricane Katrina, these facilities
were submerged in five feet of water for two weeks and sustained damages due
to high winds. Repairs to the mechanical, electric and plumbing systems and
structural components are needed. The repairs are scheduled for completion
by August 2011. 

"This region's economy depends on ports and the St. Bernard Port Harbor and
Terminal District is a critical part of that dependence," Acting Executive
Director of FEMA's Louisiana Recovery Office Joe Threat said. "The buildings
that are receiving the repairs are necessary for the Port Harbor's daily
operations. FEMA's obligated funding ensures these critical resources are
fully repaired and business at the Port Harbor can return to normal." 

The mouth of the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge is the largest shipping
corridor in the world. The St. Bernard Port serves as an unloading site for
ocean-going vessels carrying items such as metallic ores and minerals, ferro
alloys, petroleum coke, zinc concentrates fertilizers and steel. 

Associated Terminals operates the docks and leases the warehouse and offices
from the Port Harbor. The warehouse is used to store cargo after it is taken
off ships before being loaded onto trains, trucks and barges to be
transported throughout the country. 

FEMA has obligated a total of $12.4 million to the St. Bernard Port Harbor
and Terminal District. Some of this funding included the construction of a
new administrative building, which opened this past summer. 

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance
grant, the funds are made available to the Governor's Office of Homeland
Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for
eligible work completed. 

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund
recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private
nonprofit organizations' buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and
sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and
local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and
oversee their completion. 

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure
that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our
capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and
mitigate all hazards.