Landrieu: $91.7 Million Coming to Communities Impacted by Hurricane Isaac

Press Release

The chair of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will be releasing $91.7 million to the state of Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish and Jefferson Parish after approving their Hurricane Isaac disaster recovery plans. The majority of the state funding will go to support ongoing recovery efforts in St. John the Baptist and Plaquemines parishes.

These funds are available through HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program because Sen. Landrieu ensured that the disaster aid bill Congress passed earlier this year would fund recovery efforts from disasters other than just Hurricane Sandy, including Hurricane Isaac.

Of the $91.7 million, Jefferson Parish will receive $16.45 million and St. Tammany Parish will receive $8.9 million. The State of Louisiana will receive an additional $66.4 million, to be distributed to among heavily impacted parishes, including St. John the Baptist and Plaquemines.

"Today is a great step forward in our recovery and rebuilding from Hurricane Isaac. With the funds in hand and viable rebuilding plans in place, communities across Southeast Louisiana can move forward," Sen. Landrieu said."When the Senate crafted the Hurricane Sandy recovery bill earlier this year, I fought to ensure that our communities hit hard by Isaac were not left behind. This funding will allow our communities to recover and move forward, rebuilding even stronger and smarter than before."

St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister said: "With this HUD funding St. Tammany Parish will move forward with economic development and revitalization projects. This allocation today will set into motion our action plan, and we will immediately begin working to build a better St. Tammany. We are incredibly thankful for the support of Sen. Landrieu and our entire Congressional delegation and from our partners at HUD, in securing this funding."

CDBG Disaster Recovery funds can be used for recovery efforts involving housing, economic development, infrastructure and prevention of further damage to affected areas. Specific examples include: rehabilitation of homes and buildings damaged by the disaster; buying, constructing, or rehabilitating public facilities such as streets, neighborhood centers, and water, sewer and drainage systems and helping businesses retain or create jobs in disaster impacted areas.

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