IEM Helps Restore Louisiana Following the 2016 Floods
BATON ROUGE, LA, July 6, 2017 – The State of Louisiana Office of Community Development has finalized the process of selecting global security consulting firm IEM as the prime contractor to manage the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program. This program is helping eligible Louisiana residents rebuild their homes damaged by the unprecedented and historic floods in March and August of 2016.
Louisiana received a major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for 51 parishes impacted by the March and August floods. Thus far, the State has been granted $1.3 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist homeowners. CDBG-DR funds appropriated by Congress help affected areas recover from disasters, especially in low- to moderate-income areas and communities with limited resources.
IEM, the largest woman-owned disaster recovery firm in the world, and the State of Louisiana signed an official contract for $308 million on April 21, 2017, with a final approval date of June 21, 2017. The contract covers program management, construction management, environmental assessments, and homeowner repair and reconstruction.
IEM has opened four homeowner assistance centers. The main center is located in Baton Rouge, with additional locations in Monroe, Lafayette, and Hammond. The centers are staffed with case managers who can help homeowners complete the initial survey, which is necessary to participate in the program, and walk them through the application process and explain the solutions available to help in their recovery. Their information also helps IEM and the State better understand the unmet needs of homeowners as a result of the flood-related damage.
The Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program has seen historical accomplishments in the short period since the project work began. In addition to the prompt opening of the assistance centers, more than 28,000 flood-impacted homeowners have completed the Homeowners Flood Damage Survey. The team has completed more than 12,000 environmental reviews, allowing homeowners included in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the program to officially start the application process. Homeowners in the remaining phases will be added accordingly. In addition, several homeowners have received reimbursement checks through the program for repair work they have already completed. Construction has started on homes as well.
IEM team members are a mix of Louisiana-based firms and national powerhouses, including: AIMS Group, Inc.; Baker Donelson; BBR Creative; Bruno & Bruno, LLP; Civil Solutions Consulting Group, Inc.; CORE Construction Services; Crawford & Company; Denmon Engineering; Design Build Consultants, Inc.; Emergent Method; Finback 670, Inc.; Materials Management Group, Inc.; Pan American Engineers; Postlethwaite & Netterville; Providence Engineering; PWR, LLC; Ramboll Environ, Inc.; Ratcliff Construction Company, LLC; Resilient Strategies Group, LLC; Roy Anderson Corp; Sparkhound; Team Title; Tetra Tech; TKTMJ; Waggoner Engineering; WTAA Engineers; and more.
“The IEM team, under the leadership of Jon Mabry, is the best team to restore Louisiana’s housing in the wake of the Great Floods of 2016. Our team has successfully led program management for four of the six largest housing recovery programs in the Nation,” said IEM’s CEO and President, Madhu Beriwal. “We are honored to serve homeowners and the State, and help them in their recovery.”