Senator Mary Landrieu: Resolution on V-Zones Means Dirt Will Turn on Recovery Projects

After months of working on the issue with the administration and Louisiana delegation, projects will go forward.

06/02/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee, today announced major progress for Louisiana hurricane recovery projects located in designated High Velocity Flood Zones.

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Sen. Landrieu has been steadfast in her insistence that the Department of Homeland Security reconsider its approach to rebuilding infrastructure in disaster-impacted communities inside V-Zones, which is impeding development in southern Louisiana. She has publicly pressed Secretary Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate on the issue several times, who pledged to work with Sen. Landrieu on this issue.

"I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of Secretary Napolitano, FEMA Administrator Fugate and former Acting Administrator Nancy Ward to solve the V-Zone issue," Sen. Landrieu said. "Our communities have been struggling to recover from the 2005 and 2008 storms, and this resolution means we can get dirt turning on critical projects. Devising a way to allow development in V-Zones has been a top priority, and I am thankful that the new Administration has worked with our delegation to solve the problem."

Louisiana has 34 projects worth a total of $33 million located in V-Zones in Cameron, Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Tammany Parish. Under current policy, the federal government will not fund new construction in a V-Zone. Today's policy change will allow six of these 34 projects to receive a combined $366,000 in funding. A second policy change allows projects that are less than 90 percent damaged to be eligible for repair, meaning that most, and maybe all, of the remaining 28 projects can move forward. Previously, only projects that were less than 50 percent damaged were eligible for repair. Projects that had sustained more than 50 percent damage were categorized as "new construction," and were not eligible for FEMA funding. The six projects that will benefit from today's announcement are:

• Federal obligation: $55,938 —Bunkhouse Storage Building, Grand Isle State Park, Jefferson Parish. Project is under construction.

• Federal obligation: $130,664 — Comfort Station, Grand Isle State Park, Jefferson Parish. Project is complete.

• Federal obligation: $170,894 — Steel Building, Grand Isle State Park, Jefferson Parish. Project is under construction.

• Federal obligation: $8,684 — Guard House, South Shore Harbor/Orleans Levee District, Orleans Parish. Project is complete.

The following projects were covered with insurance funds:

• Radio tower, Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area, Plaquemines Parish. Project is under construction.

• Holly Beach Maintenance Unit, Department of Transportation and Development (DoTD), Cameron Parish. Project is under construction.

Based on the second policy announcement made by FEMA today that adjusts the damage threshold, the 28 remaining projects that total about $32 million are likely to be federally-funded based. These projects include the Lakefront Airport, Grand Isle School, Fort Pike Fire Department, and the Naval Reserve Facility in Orleans Parish.

Since the issue with construction in the V-Zones came to light, Sen. Landrieu has actively voiced her concern about restricting development in V-Zones. In February, Sen. Landrieu sent a letter to then Acting FEMA Administrator Nancy Ward asking for flexibility on the issue. She asked for an end to the Gulf Coast Recovery Office practice of freezing reconstruction projects and deobligating funds when a newly issued flood map (Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map) places a construction site in a V-Zone.

Since then, Sen. Landrieu has conducted two personal meetings with Ward and Fugate on this issue. On May 20, she introduced legislation to authorize funding for these 34 projects, and spoke with Administrator Fugate this morning to thank him for working with her to reach a resolution on these critical rebuilding projects.

Source: Senator Mary Landrieu