Sen. Landrieu Announces $18M for Katrina Repairs
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., chair of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced $15.4 million for St. Bernard Parish for sewer repairs and $2.6 million for Xavier University of Louisiana for new faculty housing. These grants are for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and are funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance Program.
"Today's grants will help protect the health and safety of our neighborhoods in St. Bernard Parish by making important repairs to its sewer system," Sen. Landrieu said. "I'm also excited for the well-deserved funding for Xavier to rebuild damaged housing facilities smarter and safer. The university and its faculty has a strong tradition of providing a world-class education to their students and making strong contributions to our state."
Today's grants include:
- $15.4 million to St. Bernard Parish for repairs to its sanitary sewage collection system. St. Bernard Parish sustained severe wind and flood damage due to Hurricane Katrina, extending to the parish's critical gravity flow sanitary sewer collection system. Floodwaters entered the system through the open manholes under dynamic velocity pressures and carried debris and sediment into the buried sewer pipeline system that had no route of discharge.
- $2.6 million to Xavier University of Louisiana for new faculty-housing properties. Hurricane Katrina caused widespread damage across Xavier's campus, including 13 facilities used primarily as residences or offices for university members. The university decided it was not in the public's best interest to replace the facilities as they existed before Katrina and requested funding to construct fewer, but larger structures to accommodate current faculty housing needs. The 13 disaster-damaged facilities ranged in size from 887 square feet to 2,530 square feet. Xavier intends to use the funding to help construct 10 faculty-housing units that range in size from 1,479 square feet to 3,153 square feet.
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