On Sunday Governor Bobby Jindal awarded four grants totaling $1,136,618 to Beauregard Parish for hurricane recovery efforts, hazard mitigation, enhancing the criminal justice system and infrastructure improvements. Governor Jindal awarded the funds to local officials at a presentation in Dry Creek.   

The four grants awarded include a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) totaling $704,534, a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) grant totaling $291,435, a Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (LCLE) Byrne/JAG grant totaling $105,649, and a Community Water Enrichment Fund (CWEF) grant totaling $35,000.

Governor Bobby Jindal said, “Hurricanes Gustav and Ike ravaged communities throughout Louisiana, and we knew a one-size-fits-all program to distribute federal recovery dollars just wouldn’t work. That’s why we’re sending the federal CDBG dollars directly to parishes, which will cut the bureaucratic red tape and speed up local rebuilding efforts.

“The HMGP funds are a critical investment in mitigating future infrastructure problems. Indeed, we saw the benefits of previous mitigation work following last year’s storms, as elevated homes and buildings were largely spared from floodwater. These funds will enable us to become better prepared for future storms.”

Upon awarding the LCLE and CWEF grants, Governor Jindal said, “The funding from the Byrne grant will provide critical tools for local law enforcement officials and public safety agencies to help keep our communities safe.

“The Water Enrichment Fund dollars will help ensure that residents have access to safe and clean drinking water, and most importantly, will help provide the quality of life that all Louisianians deserve.”

The $704,534 in federal CDBG funds are meant to aid the recovery efforts from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Both hurricanes caused housing and infrastructure damage last year.
Damage levels were determined for each parish based on HUD analysis of FEMA damage assessments.

The HMGP funds were given to support local hazard mitigation projects that will protect Beauregard from future damage following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Unlike HMGP funds given to Louisiana after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this HMGP funding comes with a requirement for local and state governments to pay matching costs, meaning the federal government pays 75 percent of the costs, and local or state governments are required to pay for 25 percent of the cost of the projects.

The Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office received a $105,649 Byrne/JAG grant for criminal justice technology upgrades. Byrne/JAG grants are awarded through the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice LCLE to programs which enhance law enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, treatment and technology in order to improve the criminal justice system.

BPSO intends to use the funds to update software that will allow them to more widely share information with other law enforcement agencies, and to update their Computer Aided Dispatch system, which is aimed to improve response time in dispatches.

The $35,000 CWEF grant was awarded to the Beauregard Parish Police Jury to replace the chlorination system at Waterworks District #5. 

Police Jury President Mike McCloud said the jury has “really put a lot of time into getting this money for the Parish.” The amount awarded was the same amount estimated by the Waterworks engineers that would be needed to complete the project.

McCloud also said that the Police Jury has been working closely with the Louisiana Recovery

Authority and expects to receive more funding in the near future. That money will be used for rural projects.