The Louisiana Office of Community Development is accepting public comments on Action Plan Amendment 2 for the use of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funding in response to the 2020 and 2021 federally declared disasters in Louisiana. APA 2 revises narratives, modifies maximum award amounts and adds program allocation methodology for the Hometown Revitalization Program and Resilient Communities Infrastructure Program in the state’s original Action Plan.
“Funding awarded through the two new disaster recovery programs—the Hometown Revitalization Program and the Resilient Communities Infrastructure Program—will allow local governments to implement transformative projects and programs in previously under-invested communities, building resilience and economic vitality,” OCD Executive Director Pat Forbes said.
On April 1, the state published an initial action plan outlining proposed spending for the federal funds allocated for Hurricanes Laura and Delta. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the plan on July 14. On June 1, the state published a first amendment to the original action plan for spending an additional allocation of $1.27 billion in CDBG-DR funding for recovery from Hurricane Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storms, along with an additional allocation of $450 million for Hurricanes Laura and Delta. HUD approved APA 1 on Sept. 20.
The formal public comment period for APA 2 will end at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23. A copy of the plan is available at doa.la.gov/doa/ocd/policy-and-reports/apa/ or by calling 225.219.9600.
The state will only accept public comments on APA 2, not the original plan nor APA 1, which have already been through the comment process. At the end of the formal public comment period, the state will submit APA 2 to HUD for approval.
Members of the public can submit comments several ways:
- Emailing them to ocd@la.gov;
- Mailing them to Disaster Recovery Unit, P.O. Box 94095, 70804-9095, Attn: Janice Lovett; or
- Faxing them to the attention of Janice Lovett at 225.219.9605