SECTION: METRO - EDITORIAL; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 297 words

Re: "Elevation grants may get lowered," Metro, July 5.

Coastal Louisiana residents finally are getting the opportunity to receive financial support for elevating their homes above flood levels. Just when the program was announced, the press reported that ICF may have mistakenly overcompensated some 1,000 to 5,000 homeowners in the basic Road Home program.

While working to support homeowners in elevating their homes, we heard some of them say they thought the letters about elevation funds were actually letters requesting the return of Road Home money and that they dreaded even opening the letters.

Now, the LRA has announced that it will reduce the elevation funds for homeowners who they have discovered were overcompensated by ICF.

We predict that some homeowners who submitted their interest letters for elevation funds will not continue the application process for fear that not only will they stand to lose the $30,000 for which they would be eligible, but that applying may result in having more money taken away.

This logic might seem unreasonable to state officials who work on these issues daily, but for homeowners who have been through excruciating negotiations to get their Road Home money, it may be the clearest logic they can muster.

Why can't we support safety through home elevation instead of, yet again, chipping away at opportunities to be safe?

First, we abided a 2 1/2 year delay in getting elevation funding; now, a "condition" of obtaining the elevation funding may be putting homeowners' Road Home money at risk.

Why must we accept this as the only solution for recouping possible overpayments?

At some point, considerations of safety must come first.

Shirley Laska
Director- Center for Hazards Assessment, Response & Technology
University of New Orleans-New Orleans, LA