Other states are watching as the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approves Louisiana’s action plan for
spending $1.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation funds,
allowing the state to move forward with a plan aiming to reduce flood risk for
Baton Rouge and other cities. The plan outlines the state’s approach to funding
mitigation projects, data collection, watershed modeling and policy measures
that align with the long-term resilience objective of the Louisiana Watershed
Initiative. Consistent with support the Code Council provided in comments to
the then Draft Action Plan, the approved plan provides (1) $24 million for
watershed planning that can be used to support the adoption and implementation
of modernized codes and (2) more than $570 million for local and regional
watershed programs, which can support code enforcement activities, training,
and certification in building methods. The state expects the funding to become
available in spring 2020 and is prepared to begin using these funds as soon as
they are available to make significant investments in low-risk, high-impact
projects to reduce flood risk throughout the state. Currently, California,
Georgia and Missouri have open comment periods and ICC members are encouraged
to participate in public comments and hearings on state CDBG-MIT plans. This is
significant funding that can be used for code adoption and updating and for staffing
and training if states choose to prioritize those activities for funding. The
Code Council will work closely with state chapters and partners to leverage
these resources for needed adoption, enforcement, certification, and training
activities in the state. Read more.