Louisiana Governor Jindal Awards Over $9.7 Million in Grants to West Baton Rouge Parish

Oct 14, 2009 -- ADDIS – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal awarded five grants totaling $9,792,570 to West Baton Rouge Parish that will go towards hurricane recovery efforts, hazard mitigation and infrastructure improvements. Governor Jindal awarded the funds to local officials in a ceremonial check presentation during an address to the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce as part of his “Louisiana Working Tour.”

The five grants awarded include a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) totaling $8,197,025, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding totaling $1,424,831, two Community Water Enrichment Fund (CWEF) grants totaling $135,714 and one Local Government Assistance Program (LGAP) grants totaling $35,000.

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Governor Jindal said, “After Gustav and Ike devastated communities throughout the state, we made a commitment to do everything in our power to speed up the recovery process and today we’re following through on that pledge by distributing these funds directly to parish officials so folks on the ground have the flexibility to make their own rebuilding decisions. This process cuts through the bureaucratic red tape that has too often held up our people’s recovery.”

Upon awarding the CWEF and LGAP grants Governor Jindal said, “Awarded through a competitive process, these grants help rural communities make long-term improvements to critical infrastructures that will improve the quality of life for their residents.”

Community Development Block Grant
The Governor said West Baton Rouge Parish received $8,197,025 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to aid the recovery efforts from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which caused widespread housing and infrastructure damage last year.

Damage levels were determined for each parish based on HUD analysis of FEMA damage assessments. To use federal CDBG funds, states must present action plans for federal approval. HUD already approved Louisiana's first action plan for using these funds.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
Governor Jindal said the parish received $1,424,831 in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding to support local hazard mitigation projects to protect West Baton Rouge from future damage following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Unlike HMGP funds given to Louisiana after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this HMGP funding comes with a requirement for local and state governments to pay matching costs, meaning the federal government pays 75 percent of the costs, with local or state government required to pay for 25 percent of the cost of the projects. Louisiana has repeatedly requested that federal government waive or lower the state and local match requirement, given the scope of the destruction wrought by four storms in three years.

CWEF Funding:
The West Baton Rouge Parish Police Jury received an $89,000 grant to expand the telemetry system for the West Baton Rouge Water District and the City of Port Allen received a $46,714 grant to rehabilitate a section of the water main.

The Community Water Enrichment Fund was established in the 2008 Louisiana regular legislative session to ensure safe and clean drinking water. The CWEF aids units of local government solely for the purpose of rehabilitation, improvement, and construction projects for community water systems.

LGAP Funding
The Town of Brusly received a $35,000 grant to make infrastructure improvements alongside Louisiana Highway 1.

LGAP is managed by the Office of Community Development through Division of Administration and provides funding to local governments for a variety of needed infrastructure projects and long-term capital improvements in rural areas. The program is designed to fill the gaps where there are no federal or other state funds available to assist local governments with their high priority needs. Priority is given to those projects which identify and resolve basic human health, safety needs or quality of life concerns of citizens.

Source: Louisiana Governor