Louisiana and the Watershed Initiative are offering a buyout program for residents who live in flood-prone areas.
The buyout program - a portion of a national FEMA initiative called Risk Rating 2.0 - gives residents options to buy-in or bypass a capped amount of $250,000 per residence in flood-prone areas.
The program is allocating $10M to 75 homes in St. Tammany parish who voluntarily opt-in - 68 homes in Avery Estates, six in Covington and one in Slidell.
The capped amount is leaving some residents in a quandary.
"The buyout sounds like a great idea, but they don't want to give you the fair market value or fair current market value," Anthony Caronia told WDSU.
"(I)f I'm valued over $250,0900, I'm going to stay" because isn't feasible to relocate.
Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer says residents across the parish will be forced to accept it or not in the midst of a strained flood insurance market filled with high premiums and inflation.
St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper has been working with others to demand accountability and transparency for Risk Rating 2.0. It's costing citizens more to live in St. Tammany Parish "without any sense or clarity,” Cooper said. (WDSU 07/28/23) St. Tammany Parish flood buyouts program residents in flood-prone areas Slidell (wdsu.com)
Risk Rating 2.0: Projected Premium Changes: State Totals: Projected Risk Rating 2.0 Premium Changes - All NFIP & SFH Policies (arcgis.com.)
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