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Parish officials feel road inundation arbitration "went well;" decision could take 60 daysParish officials feel road inundation arbitration "went well;" decision could take 60 days
Washington, DC,
September 19, 2019
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McHugh David | Livingston Parish News
While FEMA's policy was deemed 'clear' by their administration, parish officials were not going to back down. Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Mark Harrell, along with Parish President Layton Ricks, several LSU professors, and parish attorney Chris Moody boarded a plane for Washington D.C. two weeks ago. Their goal was to participate in arbitration with FEMA over inundated roads. Currently policy dictates that FEMA will cover visible damage to roads in the wake of a disaster. Regulations go on to state that they will not cover inundated roads. Road inundation has several negative effects on thoroughfares, including erosion, support damage, and separating the road itself by widening existing cracks. Harrell said that he was going to fight, despite policy. "The engineers say its damaged, (FEMA) policy says ‘no'," Harrell said. "We have over 400 miles of road in Livingston Parish that were inundated." Those 'negative effects,' which were listed by engineers, gave the parish enough reason to fight the policy. Through Congressman Garret Graves, arbitration was passed by congress and fielded by federal judges in D.C. According to both Ricks and Harrell, the arbitration went well. "We presented a good case," Ricks said. "It started off real well, and I think the (LSU professors) gave great testimony." "Our portion of the arbitration went well, but one judge did say he didn't know anything about roads," Harrell recalled, "it could mean that they side with FEMA, or it may mean they side with us. "It just depends on how close they stick to policy." The federal judges have 60 days from the close of arbitration to make a judgement on the case, which would fall in late October or early November. |