Plaquemines Parish Pump Stations To Receive Millions In FEMA Funding 

Release Date: February 20, 2009
Release Number: 1603-838

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PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. -- With the help of funding recently provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), five Plaquemines Parish water pump stations are being rebuilt to comply with all applicable codes and standards to include elevation to Advisory Base Flood Elevation. These replacement facilities restore the lost functions and capacities these pump station provided to the parish.

"Drainage pump stations play a critical role in flood prevention," said Jim Stark, director of FEMA's Transitional Recovery Office. "FEMA, the state and the parish have worked in partnership to ensure that five pump stations in Plaquemines will be entirely rebuilt so that they can best protect the residents and business owners of the community by reducing the risk of future flooding throughout the parish."

Louisiana Recovery Authority Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "This $46.5 million investment in new pumping capacity is essential for the parish. It not only provides the ability to drain floodwaters away from commercial and residential sites quickly, but also provides the parish with critically needed protection during any major rain event in south Louisiana."

During Hurricane Katrina, the Triumph Drainage Pump Station (Upper), the Braithwaite Drainage Pump Station, the Belair Drainage Pump Station, the Sunrise #1 Drainage Pump Station and the Gainard Woods Drainage Pump Station were completely destroyed, having been submerged at length in salt-infused and flood water. The flood water caused the equipment at the stations, including the pump motors and electrical components, to malfunction, resulting in failure of the pumps to restart once the water receded.

Although the United States Army Corps of Engineers was initially responsible for permanent repairs to the drainage pump stations, it was later determined, because they were more than 50 percent damaged, that FEMA would provide funding for their replacement.

"After working with the Army Corps for more than six months and securing the help of Senator David Vitter and Colonel Thomas Kirkpatrick, we were successful in getting the Corps to grant complete rebuilds for five pump stations," said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. "That allowed FEMA to write the project worksheets."

The five Plaquemines Parish pump stations deemed for replacement have received more than $46.5 million in public assistance grants to cover work related to the replacement of the stations. The funding breaks out as follows: $7.6 million to the Triumph Drainage Pump Station (Upper), $8.0 million to the Braithwaite Drainage Pump Station, $7.7 million to the Belair Drainage Pump Station, $7.4 million to the Sunrise #1 Drainage Pump Station and $15.8 million to the Gainard Woods Drainage Pump Station.

"This is huge for Plaquemines Parish," President Nungesser said. "It didn't make sense to throw good money into bad stations. I've always said when you have right on your side, keep pushing forward."

Currently, construction work has begun at two of the pumping stations - the Sunrise #1 Drainage Pump Station and the Gainard Woods Drainage Pump Station, while the other stations are in the design phase.

In addition to funding the replacements of these pump stations, FEMA has also provided $6.5 million for the installation of 17 temporary pumps throughout Plaquemines Parish. The temporary pumps have restored much of the parish's pre-Katrina pumping capacity while the permanent pumps are being rebuilt.

Also, as part of a "lease to purchase" agreement set up with the contracting company that supplied the temporary pumps, Plaquemines Parish was able to utilize FEMA's $6.5 million toward actually purchasing the pumps. Once the permanent pumps are replaced, the parish will be able to utilize the temporary pumps as backups.

During his first day in office, Governor Bobby Jindal issued an Executive Order directing the Louisiana Recovery Authority to be responsible for the state's actions with regard to FEMA's Public Assistance program. The LRA is working in conjunction with GOHSEP and its federal partners to identify ways to streamline the Public Assistance process and improve efficiency, with the ultimate goal of cutting in half the length of time that applications spend in the process.

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 leads and supports the nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation, to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the nation from all hazards including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

Last Modified: Friday, 20-Feb-2009 16:45:14