33 Terrebonne flood-prone homes bought by FEMA, state

Terrebonne Parish is receiving $4.2 million from the federal and state governments to buy out 33 flood-prone residential properties.

The majority of the properties are located in Chauvin, Theriot and Dulac. The remainder are in the Houma area.

All the structures on the properties suffered at least 50 percent substantial damage from recent storms, according to government standards.

The purchase is being funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the state Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The federal grant program funds projects, which reduce potential damage from natural disasters.

Acquiring flood-prone properties is a major component of the program.

The properties Terrebonne Parish is receiving will become open space. The parish will be responsible for their upkeep.

The federal grant program will pay for 75 percent ($3.2 million) of the purchase, which is the maximum amount the program is permitted to fund by law. The rest of the money ($1 million) will be paid by the state.

Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority allocated $5.1 million in FEMA funding to Terrebonne Parish for hazard mitigation. The buyout is the parish’s first use of those funds, though no purchases have yet been made.

Participants will be given fair market value on their homes, said Pat Gordon, parish planning and zoning director.

Gordon said, typically, around $100,000 is offered for properties as part of the mitigation program. Private insurance payments are deducted from the offer price.

“We use that ($100,000) as a good figure,” he said.

For buyouts following Hurricane Lili in 2002, Gordon said, homeowners needed to come up with the 25 percent cost to match the FEMA funding. For these post-Rita buyouts, the state is paying the match.

Participation in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is voluntary. Owners have the option of elevating their homes or selling.

Gordon said the parish prefers that homeowners use the mitigation money to elevate their homes.

Maintaining properties after they are bought is burdensome for the parish, he said.

“No structure can be built, no cars can be parked (on the bought out property),” Gordon said, “because FEMA wants no loss on the property. I would hope Congress would change that.”

Terrebonne has around 2,000 properties that are substantially damaged.

Gordon said, “We’d like to mitigate every one.”