REGISTER NOW. GOHSEP and FEMA: PRIVATE NON-PROFIT & HOUSES OF WORSHIP OUTREACH WORKSHOP

PURPOSE

Learn how Private Non-Profits (PNPs) and Houses of Worship (HOW), which includes churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other religious entities, may qualify for Federal Assistance if a disaster is declared for your specific area

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Eligibility Requirements
Eligible Facility Requirements
Required Documentation
The Application Process

REGION 1-August 12, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Federal City Auditorium
2485 Guadalcanal Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70114

REGION 2-August 13, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Beacon Light of Baton Rouge (Sanctuary)
7513 Prescott Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70812

REGION 9-August 14, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM St. Tammany Parish OHSEP
620 North Tyler St., Covington, LA 70433

REGION 4-August 15, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Abdalla Hall
635 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette, LA 70506

REGION 5-August 16, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Calcasieu Parish EOC
901 Lake Shore Dr., Lake Charles, LA 70601

REGION 3-August 19, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Terrebonne Parish EOC
101 Government St., Gray, LA 70359

REGION 7-August 20, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Shriners Hospital for Children (Auditorium) 3100 Samford Ave., Shreveport, LA 71103

REGION 8-August 21, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Lincoln Parish EOC
161 Road Camp Road, Ruston, LA 71270

REGION 6-August 22, 2019 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Louisiana College (Cranberry Conference Center) 1140 College Dr., Pineville, LA 71360

QUESTIONS? Please visit:
http://gohsep.la.gov/RESOURCES/TRAINING-EVENTS-SCHEDULE or contact GOHSEP Public Assistance at 225.267.2683.

PNP_HOW Outreach Workshop 2019

SCPDC has been awarded $400,000 in Supplemental Funding for the South Louisiana Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to Clean Up and Reuse Brownfield Sites!

EPA Announces Nearly $2 Million in Supplemental Funds to Clean Up and Reuse Brownfield Sites in

Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Funds are part of $9.3 million awarded nationwide

DALLAS – (June 21, 2019) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $9.3 million in supplemental funding for 24 current successful Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees. These funds include $400,000 each for the South Central (Louisiana) Planning and Development Commission; the New Mexico Environment Department; the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; and the city of Texarkana, Texas; and $373,170 for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The supplemental funds announced today are going to communities that have demonstrated success in using their RLF funds to clean up and redevelop brownfield sites. The funds will be used to continue their progress in reusing vacant and abandoned properties and turning them into community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, social services, and commerce opportunities.

“This Brownfields supplemental funding will provide additional resources to 24 communities with a proven track record of success so they can continue their progress revitalizing their local economy and improving the health and wellbeing of their community,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.  “We are proud to report that a majority of communities receiving these supplemental funds have Opportunity Zones within their jurisdiction, which means we are reaching communities most in need.”

“Region 6 is fortunate to have great communities as partners in our Brownfields program. This partnership has resulted in the productive revitalization of many communities, including those in Opportunity Zones,” said Acting Regional Administrator David W. Gray. “Today’s supplemental funding announcement will further support this vital partnership for these communities.”

Recipients of EPA’s Brownfields RLF funding provide low-interest loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites. When loans are repaid, the loan amount is returned into the fund and re-lent to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community. To date, EPA’s RLF grantees across the country have completed 694 cleanups and attracted approximately 42,000 jobs and $8 billion in public and private funding.

A majority of the communities receiving supplemental funds have census tracks designated as federal Opportunity Zones within their jurisdiction. An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investment, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

Background

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. There are estimated to be more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S.

Grants awarded by EPA’s Brownfield Program provide communities across the country with an opportunity to transform contaminated sites into community assets that attract jobs and achieve broader economic development outcomes while taking advantage of existing infrastructure. For example, Brownfields grants have been shown to:

• Increase Local Tax Revenue: A study of 48 brownfields sites found that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional local tax revenue was generated in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of these sites.
• Increase Residential Property Values: Another study found that property values of homes near revitalized brownfields sites increased between 5% and 15% following cleanup.

As of May 2019, under the EPA Brownfields Program, 30,153 properties have been assessed and 86,131 acres of idle land have been made ready for productive use. In addition, communities have been able to use Brownfields grants to attract 150,120 jobs and more than $28 billion of public and private funding. The 2019 National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on December 11-13 in Los Angeles, California. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing formerly utilized commercial and industrial properties. EPA cosponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

For more on Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

2019 National Brownfields Training Conference: https://brownfields2019.org/

Connect with EPA Region 6:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6

About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central

HOME SEWAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR THE BAYOU FOLSE WATERSHED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2019

HOME SEWAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR THE BAYOU FOLSE WATERSHED

South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC), in cooperation with the Barataria Terrebonne Estuary Foundation (BTEF) and the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP) is offering homeowners from Thibodaux to Lockport area an opportunity to upgrade Home Sewage Treatment Systems.

The area in which this program is being offered located on the western side of Bayou Lafourche, off of LA Hwy. 1. Through detailed research, BTNEP has identified sources of contamination impacting water quality in the Bayou Folse Watershed, located in Lafourche Parish.

The Home Sewage Treatment System Program will offer an opportunity for property owners in the designated area to receive assistance to repair and/or replace parts necessary to make various types of individual home sewage treatment plants operationally sound. The service will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis until there is no more available funding. It is expected that a minimum of 244 homes will be served. Based on the outcome of this program, additional funding may become available to expand this program beyond the Bayou Folse Watershed.

HOW WILL YOU BENEFIT?

• Receive money to fix your sewage system
• Save up to $1,000
• Clean our water ways
• Protect your family

For more information regarding this program, please visit www.scpdc.org or contact us at 985-655-1070.

Protect the Watershed and Protect Your Family!

Public Meetings for Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update and Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Plan

The South Central Planning and Development Commission is requesting your participation in providing input on two separate transportation planning documents. Meetings will be held in various locations and times throughout these area. Your local knowledge and input is extremely valuable to us as we prepare the plans!

The Houma-Thibodaux Metropolitan Transportation Plan will detail roadway and transit projects within Assumption, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes. The Plan will highlight new roadways and the widening of existing roadways in addition to emphasizing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, safety improvements, future transit service, and other strategies to alleviate congestion.

The South Central Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Plan will detail projects and policies aimed at the reduction of bicycle and pedestrian related crashes and fatalities within a seven-parish area including Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, and Terrebonne.

The public is invited to participate in the planning process through a series of short, interactive workshops designed to provide planners with needed local knowledge pertaining to the area’s transportation network. Participants will be given an opportunity to identify areas of congestion, unsafe segments of roadways, and potential solutions to those problems.

Workshops will be held at the following dates and locations:

April 30, 2019
Terrebonne Parish Main Branch Library
151 Library Drive, Houma
6 p.m.

May 2, 2019
Terrebonne East Branch Library
778 Grand Caillou Road, Houma
6 p.m.

May 7, 2019
Thibodaux Branch Library
3154 705 W 5th Street, Thibodaux
5 p.m.

May 9, 2018
Mathews Government Complex, Training Room
4876 Highway 1, Matthews
6 p.m.

May 14, 2019
Assumption Parish Main Library
293 Napoleon Avenue
2 p.m.

Let’s Make Everyone Count – National Street & Shelter Point-in-Time Count

During a 24-hour period in the last ten days of every January, homeless advocates across the nation seek to count the sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons within their coverage areas. The Point in Time (PIT) Count greatly affects funding, both private and public, for homeless services and affects the methodology of those services. A thorough count is crucial in identifying and understanding both the progress we’ve made and the gaps within our services. Collecting data on homelessness increases public awareness and attracts resources that will lead to the eradication of the problem. The Houma Region count will be held the night of January 28, 2019.

The Houma Region count which will encompass Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, St. John, St. Charles and St. James parishes will greatly affect the federal funding made available to the Houma Region.

Federally funded homeless shelter and transitional housing agencies are mandated to count all sheltered persons that are homeless. The more difficult task is counting unsheltered persons. If unsheltered homeless persons are not included in local point-in-time counts, their needs could be under-represented as governments, nonprofits, and key stakeholders at the federal, state, and local level plan to respond to the problem.

When is the PIT reference period?
The night of January 28, 2019 through the morning of January 29, 2019
How long can the surveys be conducted?
January 28, 2019 through February 1, 2019 (persons counted must have been homeless on the night of the 28th)
Who do we count?
Homeless persons that are sheltered (emergency shelter or transitional housing clients) and unsheltered (living in place not meant for human habitation)

If you know of any homeless hot spots within our community, have any questions or would like to be a PIT volunteer, please contact Kelli Cunningham, Community Development Administrator for Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government at 985-873-6591 or kcunningham@tpcg.org.

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