Southern University-New Orleans Receives Additional FEMA Funds
Release Date: March 29, 2007
Release Number: 1603-616
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) campus will soon benefit from recently obligated funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for emergency work needed to start environmental remediation efforts.
When projects are obligated by FEMA, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows the state to work with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as quickly as possible to access the monies and distribute them to the local applicants. The state may require additional documentation from the applicant before disbursals are made.
These funds are the latest obligated for SUNO, a state-owned facility, and will reimburse the Louisiana Facility Planning and Control for constructing temporary dehumidification units to stabilize nine of the buildings on the campus. The hurricane, subsequent flooding and prolonged power outages resulted in extensive mold damage to these buildings. The funds recently announced - totaling over $1.5 million - will help reimburse for ongoing work on a total of over 400,000 square feet of space, including the administration building, the gymnasium, the L. Washington Memorial Library and the new science classroom building, among others.
"SUNO lost use of all of their facilities and suffered some of the greatest 'campus wide' damages sustained by any higher education facility in Louisiana. FEMA has been working closely with the state and the State Facility Planning and Control to help support the ongoing restoration at the SUNO campus," said Jim Stark, FEMA director of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office. "There is a long road ahead, fortunately FEMA was also able to work closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide temporary modular classrooms; this has and will continue to help SUNO stay in operation throughout the restoration process."
SUNO's Clark Hall, which houses the school's Education Department, sustained over 11 feet of water from Hurricane Katrina, while the gymnasium had over two feet of water. In order to return these and the other buildings to their pre-disaster conditions, FEMA is working closely with the state to ensure all eligible funding is identified.
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 and recreation centers, 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 manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident, initiates mitigation activities and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA works closely with state and local emergency managers, law enforcement personnel, firefighters and other first responders. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Thursday, 29-Mar-2007 10:59:14