The City of Slidell’s hazard mitigation plan has undergone major revisions to update drainage projects and other storm-related mitigation measures in light of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The final draft of this updated plan will be presented publicly during the next city council meeting on Tuesday, November 10. Though the council previously adopted the plan in early 2006, it has since undergone additional revisions and must be approved again before it can be finalized.
Although Slidell has had a flood hazard mitigation ordinance on the books since 1987, the city’s first repetitive-loss (properties with two or more loss claims since 1978) reduction plan was drawn in 1993.
Periodic updates of the plan and annual certifications by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees the National Flood Insurance Program, are required for Slidell to continue participation in the insurance program because Slidell is considered a repetitive-loss city.
The 2006 plan, done by Glenn Farrar and Associates with the assistance of Richard Lambert and Associates, identified all potential disasters that could occur in Slidell and the measures to take to reduce damages from these disasters.
Since the biggest risk for Slidell is flooding, the mitigation measures in the last plan include projects such as a bar screens with automated debris rakes at two drainage pump stations, several other drainage projects, and improving the city’s emergency alert system.
The plan is being updated by Beck Disaster Recovery Inc. to consider additional projects and to provide details about these mitigation projects to a level that could expedite funding when available, said City Engineer, Donna ODell.
Funding for this update process is being provided through a grant from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness called the planning pilot grant program and should streamline the process of project funding and completion, she added.
Three public meetings, which included the city’s Engineering Department, city officials and representatives of Beck Disaster Recovery, were held to explain the grant program and to allow citizens to provide input into the process: one on Oct. 30, 2007, the second on Jan. 15, 2008, the third on Feb. 19, 2008.
It is crucial that we have the most up-to-date, on-target mitigation plan as possible in place to help minimize any future damage to our property and to ourselves, said Mayor Ben Morris.
To help expedite the approval process, concurrent with the public meeting next week, the updated mitigation plan is now under a final review by FEMA.
According to ODell, The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) has already approved the plan, and FEMA has reviewed it once and made comments. Now, they are reviewing the revised version that addresses those comments.
For more information, call Donna O’Dell at 985-646-4270.