FEMA Awards $1.5 Million to St. John Parish for Hurricane Isaac Recovery

BATON ROUGE, La. – St. John Parish will receive a $1.5 million federal grant to reimburse the cost of repairing sewer and storm pumps damaged by Hurricane Isaac, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Wednesday.

Between Aug. 26 and Sept. 10, Hurricane Isaac produced high winds, rain and flooding throughout the state, hitting St. John Parish particularly hard. Sewer and storm pumps at 12 locations in the parish required repair following the hurricane. The $1,501,415 FEMA Public Assistance grant helps reimburse costs for those repairs and provides additional assistance to strengthen the pumps against future damage.

“Slow-moving events like Hurricane Isaac affect the infrastructure people depend on for safety during the storm,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gerard M. Stolar of FEMA. “This grant helps put St. John Parish a little closer to normal following the storm and places the parish in a better position to withstand the next storm.”

The newly obligated funds are a portion of the nearly $215.6 million in total Public Assistance recovery dollars approved for the state since the Aug. 29, 2012, disaster declaration.

Once FEMA reimburses the state of Louisiana, it is the state’s responsibility to manage the funds, which includes making disbursements to local jurisdictions and organizations that incurred costs.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow FEMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.