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Regular Session, 2011
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 171
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHITE
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the members of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress,
the governor, and the director of the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland
Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) to assist Livingston Parish in
successfully resolving outstanding administrative appeals filed with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for reimbursement of costs incurred in
association with debris removal in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.
WHEREAS, in September 2008, Hurricane Gustav caused severe property damage
in Livingston Parish leaving an insurmountable amount of debris in, and alongside, public
roadsides and in the publicly maintained streams and canals throughout the parish; and
WHEREAS, the debris posed an immediate threat to the lives and property of the
citizens of Livingston Parish; and
WHEREAS, officials with FEMA and GOHSEP urged government officials in
Livingston Parish to treat the existence of this debris as a public emergency and to have this
debris removed as quickly as possible; and
WHEREAS, government officials in Livingston Parish informed FEMA and
GOHSEP of the inability of the parish to pay the hefty price tag associate with the debris
removal without receiving federal assistance to defray the cost; and
WHEREAS, those government officials received assurances that federal
reimbursement would be forthcoming; and
WHEREAS, in response to the urging of FEMA and GOHSEP, and relying upon
assurances provided regarding reimbursement, Livingston Parish hired contractors and
incurred tens of millions of dollars in costs that it lacks the resources to pay; and
WHEREAS, scores of Louisiana contractors, relying on full reimbursement from
FEMA, utilized their resources to cleanup Livingston Parish; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 171
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WHEREAS, FEMA maintained monitors in the field to observe the debris removal
undertaken by the parish and consistently assured the parish officials that the work
performed would be eligible for reimbursement; and
WHEREAS, to date, Livingston Parish has not been reimbursed for the majority of
costs it incurred for debris removal, including those costs specifically identified by FEMA
personnel, as being eligible for reimbursement; and
WHEREAS, Livingston Parish government is currently pursuing two administrative
appeals before FEMA seeking to obtain a total of approximately sixty-two million seven
hundred sixty-one thousand eight hundred seventy-nine ($62,761,879) dollars in federal
funding, as provided for in FEMA Project Worksheets Nos. 54v1, 05590, 05591, 05593, and
05594; and
WHEREAS, delays by FEMA in reimbursing Livingston Parish for the debris
removal project has left Livingston Parish in a precarious financial position and left many
Louisiana companies and individuals providing those services facing financial ruin.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the members of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress, the
governor, and the director of GOHSEP, to assist Livingston Parish in successfully resolving
outstanding administrative appeals filed for reimbursement of costs incurred by the parish,
and deemed eligible by FEMA, in association with debris removal in he aftermath of
Hurricane Gustav.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to each
member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress, the governor of
Louisiana, and the director of the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE