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November 9, 2006(Posted Nov. 7, 2006)
(AP) The state agency overseeing distribution of federal relief dollars on Monday approved giving $200 million to Entergy New Orleans Inc., the power company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after Hurricane Katrina.
The Louisiana Recovery Authority board of directors also accepted a New Orleans City Council recovery plan for dozens of neighborhoods. The board will use the plan in deciding how to allocate $445 million in federal aid.
But recovering from last year’s hurricanes Rita and Katrina will take much more money. Board member John Landry said at least $2.6 billion alone is needed for unfunded priorities, such as bailouts for utilities Cleco Corp. and Entergy Louisiana. Funding community repair and recovery plans — those with pressing infrastructure needs and “wish-list” items n could reach another $7 billion, said Pat Forbes, LRA director of coastal and infrastructure policy.
“This country is going to have to put more in the pot,” said Norman Francis, LRA chairman and president of Xavier University. “Plus, private investors are going to have to come through.”
A pot of about $10.4 billion n all federal dollars n has been made available for hurricane relief. $8.1 has been set aside for homeowner assistance and restoring and building rental properties under the Road Home Program. But board member Walter Leger, whose home parish, St. Bernard, was devastated by Katrina, said money has been slow in reaching homeowners. Many, he said, are waiting on those funds to make decisions about their future.
As of Monday, nearly 80,000 applications for Road Home dollars had been received, with 1,351 awards worth $78.9 million confirmed but not necessarily distributed, LRA said. Awards have averaged around $67,000. Leger said Gov. Kathleen Blanco has asked ICF International, a contractor managing the awards, to speed up the program. Leger said the target is to process 10,000 awards by the end of November.
Officials had estimated 123,000 homes received major or severe storm damage, suggesting many people may not be applying for the program.
To reach more people, local mobile centers, as well as a center in Houston, the city to which many Louisiana residents evacuated, are planned, LRA deputy director Adam Knapp said.
Frustrations with the region’s housing situation were underscored by more than two dozen protesters holding signs with such slogans as “Provide Renters a Road Home,” and “Where is Our Money?” Malcolm Suber, a spokesman for the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, told the board that renters should get a subsidy to help them return to New Orleans. While Road Home provides money to owners of rental residential property, it does not provide direct payments to renters. Rents in New Orleans have soared because vast stocks of rental housing n especially in lower-income neighborhoods n were wiped out by Katrina.
The board’s approval of $200 million for Entergy New Orleans is designed to help offset higher electric and gas rates for customers due to the cost of repairing the damaged utility system. The Legislature and federal officials also must approve the allocation before Entergy gets the money.
One board member, Tom Henning, cast a “no” vote. He would not say why.
Entergy New Orleans is a subsidiary of Entergy Corp. Its power and natural gas system suffered extensive damage due to Katrina and the New Orleans unit filed for chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court just weeks after the storm. Entergy Corp., which is publicly held, has been criticized by some ratepayers who say stockholders should bear more of the financial burden of rebuilding the system.
Other utilities want money, too.
Dennie Williams, director of state and federal affairs for Cleco Corp., said the Pineville-based electricity provider wants to be remembered if funding becomes available and Entergy Louisiana, another Entergy Corp. division, also has asked for relief money.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin originally was scheduled to present the city’s neighborhood plan along with Sewerage & Water Board priorities to LRA. But a Nagin spokeswoman said details were being completed and Nagin would submit those to the LRA shortly.
