St. Bernard Parish Honors FEMA Staff
Long-Term Community Recovery team named 'honorary citizens'
Release Date: June 22, 2006
Release Number: 1603-497
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Residents of St. Bernard Parish have eight new neighbors.
The St. Bernard Parish Council has named eight members of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) team honorary citizens of the parish. This proclamation recognizes the ongoing efforts of the LTCR team working with parish officials to develop a long-term recovery plan.
"Were overwhelmed by how helpful the Long-Term Community Recovery folks have been," said St. Bernard Parish President Junior Rodriguez. "They brought a positive attitude and tremendous experience to the process, and did an excellent job."
From the start, it was evident that the LTCR teams were dedicated to working closely with the community. Housed side-by-side in office trailers, they worked tirelessly with Parish officials. Six days a week, twelve hours or more a day, the LTCR researched the needs of St. Bernard, and helped develop recovery projects that would catalyze recovery in the parish.
Many of the LTCR team members are not native Louisianans, hailing from Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio, New York, or Florida. While the task of rebuilding St. Bernard is daunting, the LTCR team has been inspired by the resiliency of the residents of St. Bernard. After Katrina hit, Council members were trapped on the roof of the parish administration building for four days. Awaiting rescue, without shelter, lights, proper sanitation, or knowing the full extent of the loss of life or devastation to their homes they began planning for their community's recovery.
The St. Bernard LTCR team, like other LTCR teams throughout the Gulf Coast region, brought technical expertise in myriad fields to the process. LTCR officials, like Chris Towns, were able to assess the situation on the ground quickly, and then work with FEMA to develop more than 30 recovery projects. These range from water treatment plants to medical facilities.
One project - a new $45 million dollar waste water treatment facility - not only repairs the existing system, but increases capacity, eliminates four environmental concerns, and consolidates seven different waste water treatment sites into one, while removing old sites from the flood plain.
LTCR staff adopted a hands-on approach to the planning process. "I was climbing around in the sewer plant to get first-hand knowledge of the situation," said Towns. "You can't get it right from behind a desk; you have to get involved on the ground."
While the technical skills and understanding of FEMA programs allowed the LTCR team to help the community develop recovery projects, St. Bernard's commitment to coming back better and stronger was an essential element to a successful recovery planning process. St. Bernard residents formed a Citizen Recovery Committee (CRC), which was formalized by Council resolution. This 38-member body was the foundation for the citizen input into the planning process. Meeting almost daily, they proposed suggestions for recovery projects and were a valuable resource to LTCR staff.
This close knit environment built trust between the CRC and the LTCR team. Chris Towns, recalled, "We've worked hand in glove with the community to develop a recovery response that is appropriate to the disaster. We're here to provide help, supplementing and supporting the existing planning capacity of the parish."
St. Bernard's Parish, bestowed honorary citizenship on members of FEMA's Long-term Community Recovery team; evidence that in the end, federal efforts to support local recovery planning was a success. Parish Chief Administrative Officer Dave Peralta commented, "A good deal of the credit goes to the dedicated group of men and women in the FEMA long-term recovery team. I was happy that we were able to honor them in this way."
The partnership between St. Bernard's Citizen Recovery Committee and the FEMA LTCR team, goes to the heart of what Deputy Director of Gulf Coast Recovery, Gil Jamieson sees as the core role for federal involvement in local recovery efforts: "Recovery efforts are locally driven, and with the assistance of FEMA's Long-Term Community Recovery staff, we are making tremendous progress to create strategies for the long-term success of the region."
"FEMA staff have been a pleasure to work with and never tired," said Peralta. "They have shown as much compassion for this community as those of us whove lived here our whole lives."
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Thursday, 22-Jun-2006 10:12:33