Funding Approved for First Phase of Flood Plans
Release Date: June 22, 2000
Release Number: R4-00-06
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Pearl River County and the City of D'Iberville, two Mississippi Gulf Coast areas that suffered extensive flooding from Hurricane Georges, have been awarded flood control planning grants under a federal/state program designed to reduce the risk of future losses in communities susceptible to repetitive natural disasters.
The grants will enable the areas to identify potential flood hazards and to develop comprehensive solutions to address specific needs. They are:
- Pearl River County - $40,000 to implement a 10-step planning process to identify hazards as well as potential funding sources for proposed solutions. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will pay $30,000 of the project cost under the agency's cost sharing formula with state and local governments.
- The City of D'Iberville - $17,500 for a similar study, with FEMA once again providing 75 percent of the project cost.
Robert R. Latham, Jr., director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), said the grants will enable the two Gulf Coast areas to develop wide-ranging solutions to on-going problems.
"Our prior experience with these grants has been very positive," Latham said. "State and local agencies can pool their knowledge of local conditions to develop practical solutions based on long-standing experience," he said. "It speeds up the whole process."
The federal grants will help provide funds needed for the projects' first phase. The funds come from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 18-Nov-2003 16:14:44