Disaster Recovery Progress at Pine Ridge

PINE RIDGE, S.D. – Recovery efforts continue in the aftermath of severe storms and flooding that struck the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation last spring.  In the six months since President Obama’s disaster declaration, hundreds of households have received assistance funds and FEMA and the Oglala Sioux Tribe have engaged in the largest housing effort in the tribe’s history.  To support this effort, FEMA has established offices on the reservation, as well as in Hot Springs and Rapid City.

To address the severe housing need on the reservation following the disaster, FEMA initiated a program used for the first time in the continental United States.  Under the effort, more than 300 households have been identified as eligible for either repairs to their damaged home, or replacement with a new manufactured home. As of Feb. 5, 40 new homes have been provided on the reservation, and another 10 homes have been repaired. The program will continue until an expected completion date in mid-summer.  The manufactured homes are being staged at Ellsworth Air Force Base prior to their final delivery to the reservation.

In addition to the housing construction program, FEMA has provided more than $380,000 in financial aid to tribal members.  Of that, more than $170,000 was for home repairs and $210,000 was for personal property and other emergency needs.  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved $943,000 in low-interest loans to 58 tribal residents and businesses.

A federal interagency disaster recovery coordination team is also partnering with the OST Government to support longer term Tribal priorities such as improving housing and roads, enhancing self-governance capacity, and reducing home and business energy bills.  In addition to FEMA and the Tribal Departments, federal agencies involved in this effort include the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Federal Highways Administration Tribal Transportation Program.

HUD and Oglala Lakota Sioux Housing are co-leading a Tribal Housing Task Force to support the “One Nation One Number” initiative that will assess housing conditions and housing needs on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The OST Department of Transportation is co-leading a Tribal Roads Task Force with the US Army Corps of Engineers to perform similar assessments and recommend solutions for addressing issues related to Tribal roads.