Terrebonne Parish was awarded over $16 million from the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to rebuild from the Hurricanes in 2008. This money will not be available to the Parish immediately. The Parish provided a list of potential projects at the end of June and is in the process of preparing applications for each project. The state and then FEMA have to approve each project individually. At least $15 million will be dedicated to home elevations. There will still be far more applicants than the Parish can fund. The first meeting regarding the funds will be held:

July 21, 2009 at 6 PM Municipal Auditorium 880 Verret Street in downtown Houma. Call 985-857-4400 for questions about the meeting or how to start preparing to apply. Only certain homes are eligible for funding. They must have been damaged by flood waters and be able to prove those damages through flood claims or detailed records and pictures of past damages and the checks used to pay for the repairs. We hope that the program will avoid future flood damage, avoid claims through the national flood insurance program and increase the quality of life for parish residents. Not every applicant will be eligible and not all will receive funding. The parish will work diligently to raise as many homes as possible to keep people out of harm’s way. People with structures determined to be Substantially Damaged will be preferred over other applicants. The parish will also look at other considerations such as which structures flood repeatedly, sustain the most damage, have the greatest risk of flooding in the future, or if the homeowners are living in FEMA trailers. The balance of the funding will be used to flood or windproof critical government buildings that need to be running during or immediately after a storm event. Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government encourages the participation of minorities, non-English speaking persons, the disabled, low-income persons, the elderly, residents of public housing developments, community-based organizations, and all others. Those persons who wish to participate but may be hindered by disabilities or who are non-English speaking are urged to notify the Planning and Zoning Department at least three days in advance of the meeting so that special arrangements can be made. A TDD device is available for the hearing impaired. Citizens wishing to participate that are unable to attend the hearing may submit written correspondence via e-mail, the U.S. Postal Service to the addresses listed above, or call 985-857-4400. Media Contact: Patrick Gordon 985-873-6569 pgordon@tpcg.org