St. Tammany Parish Receives Funding For Acquisition Projects
Release Date: August 9, 2007
Release Number: 1603-677
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently obligated funding for St. Tammany Parish to acquire two residential properties. The properties are on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)/FEMA severe repetitive loss list of residential structures with excessive flood loss, and their acquisition will prevent potential future damages.
Project grants are used to implement mitigation activities to reduce flood losses by elevating, acquiring or relocating NFIP-insured buildings. Acquisition projects funded through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) are voluntary and homeowners are never forced to sell their properties. The decision to buy damaged property is made by the local government and the property owner, not FEMA.
Once an acquisition project is approved by the state and FEMA, the community uses federal funds to purchase the home or building and the land is restricted to open space, recreation or wetlands in perpetuity. The local government becomes the new owner of the property.
"By purchasing these residential properties, St. Tammany Parish is utilizing an effective program designed to move people and property away from high-risk areas to reduce disaster losses," said Jim Stark, FEMA's director of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office.
During the recovery phase of a disaster, local jurisdictions select projects that could reduce property damage from future disasters and submits grant applications to the state. The HMGP establishes mitigation priorities for the state and facilitates the development of applications. The plan identifies hazards, assesses community needs and describes a community-wide strategy for reducing risks associated with natural disasters. The states administer the HMGP funds. Federal law requires states and local jurisdictions to have a mitigation plan prior to receipt of HMGP funds.
HMGP funds are used to make improvements to public or private property. To be eligible, a project must provide a long-term solution to a specific risk.
FEMA obligated $481,002 for St. Tammany Parish to buy these residential properties. When projects are obligated by FEMA through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows the grantee, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, to draw down the funds as quickly as possible. The state may require additional information from the subgrantee before disbursing the funds.
The HMGP provides grants to states and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration, to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Thursday, 09-Aug-2007 09:43:29