APC Board allocates $25 million in HMGP funding to regional flood mitigation projects

The Acadiana Planning Commission (APC) Board allocated $25 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding as part of Governor Edwards’ Louisiana Resiliency Recovery initiative.

As part of this initiative, initially announced in August 2017, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the Acadiana region as a recipient of $25M in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding, from the Presidentially-declared Disaster (LA-4277), which impacted the Acadiana area in August 2016. The purpose of HMGP is to capitalize on opportunities to take critical mitigation measures which reduce the risks associated with loss of life and property from future disasters.

“Today was the first of many steps in addressing flood mitigation from a regional approach,” said St. Landry Parish President and APC Board Chairman, Bill Fontenot. “The August 2016 flood was a model of how water knows no boundaries. While each parish could have received their own share of HMGP funding, the truth is that we can address flooding better together as a region than we can alone as individual parishes. I’m proud of the momentous steps the APC Board has taken today to address flooding.”

APC CEO Monique Boulet said, “Today was a great example of what can happen when we work together to address challenges as a region. For several months, prior to today, APC has worked closely in conjunction with local governments, the public, engineers and hydraulic and hydrology experts to get us to this point. Today’s decision wasn’t just a win for addressing flood mitigation from a regional standpoint, but also a win for governments working together to create positive change that span beyond the parish lines. It is my hope, that as a region, we will transcend what we originally set out to accomplish.”

The agency recommendation, approved by the Board, considered the technical committee’s recommendation, the use of partial funding scenarios, consultation with H&H expertise from ULL along with local engineers, original board intentions for the funding, and input from the APC management committee.

Below is the list of funded projects.

• Regional Gauge Network $2.4M
• Coulee LaSalle Detention Pond – Alt. HMGP 1 $2.3M
• Coulee Ile Des Cannes – Lateral L8C Regional Detention Facilities Project – Alt. HMGP 1 $1.5M
• Coulee Ile Des Cannes Flood Control Project – Alt. HMGP 2 $2.4M
• Bayou Parc Perdu Regional Detention & Improvements Lake Peigneur Project $5.3M
• Bailey Grove Regional Detention Pond – Alt. HMGP 1 $5M
• Evangeline Parish Detention $1.4M
• Elevation of LA 14 Bypass in the City of Abbeville $2.7M
• Cypress Bayou/ Coulee La Salle Drainage Improvements $2M
• TOTAL $25M

The Acadiana Planning Commission (APC) serves the public sector through planning and implementation of Community, Economic, and Transportation Development throughout the Acadiana region.