Governor Jindal Taps LRA to Lead Recovery from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike

BATON ROUGE, La. (September 15, 2008) – Governor Bobby Jindal on Monday issued an executive order charging the Louisiana Recovery Authority with leading the state’s recovery from hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater will serve as the Governor’s Authorized Representative to FEMA for the Public Assistance program in Louisiana for Gustav and Ike. FEMA’s Public Assistance program reimburses public entities, usually local governments, for repairs to or the rebuilding of damaged facilities.

“Our state has learned many lessons in our more than three years of recovering from devastating hurricanes. We will use this knowledge to speed the pace of recovery for areas affected by Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike,” Rainwater said. “Our commitment to rebuilding safer and stronger is not limited to one region affected by one storm. We must restore our communities all across Louisiana and, working together, we will.”

During his first day in office, Governor Bobby Jindal issued an Executive Order directing the LRA to be responsible for the state’s actions with regard to FEMA’s Public Assistance program for hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) operates the Public Assistance program under Rainwater’s direction.

Working together, the LRA and GOHSEP introduced the state-administered “Express Pay System,” which cut the length of time applicants to the Public Assistance program wait for reimbursements from two months to around one week, speeding the flow of hundreds of millions of recovery funds to affected parishes.

The LRA will also serve as the State Hazard Mitigation Team for the recovery associated with hurricanes Gustav and Ike for purposes of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.