N.O Government Briefs: November 26, 2007

New Orleans CityBusiness, Nov 26, 2007

The Road Home has closed deals with 70,873 homeowners through Nov. 19, which boosted the average to a record 1,201 closings per week.

Homeowners can apply for up to $150,000 in compensation to help rebuild or relocate until Dec. 1.

To date, 186,966 applications have been received although just an estimated 162,000 are expected to be valid after undergoing scrutiny.

The average award calculated of $63,935 for 145,221 claims brings the total calculated to $9.28 billion. Of that, $4.6 million has been paid to homeowners.

The Road Home has $10.3 billion in funding and is roughly $100 million short of being able to cover all projected claims at this point.

Louisiana bans drilling near interstates

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco has issued a 120-day moratorium on drilling oil and gas wells within a quarter mile of an interstate highway.

The emergency order Tuesday comes after a Nov. 18 blowout of a natural gas well near Interstate 10 in Iberville Parish. The incident closed a roughly 55-mile stretch of I-10 across the Atchafalaya Basin until Dec. 4.

The ban on new drilling permits begins Dec. 1, said Jim Welsh, commissioner of the state Office of Conservation in the state Department of Natural Resources. The ban affects 10 interstates in Louisiana.

HUD takes over FEMA rental program Dec. 1

Nearly 30,000 residents affected by the 2005 hurricanes will continue to receive temporary rental assistance when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development takes over the program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Dec. 1, HUD officials said.

"All hands are on deck to make this transition as seamless as possible for these families who have already been through so much," HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said.

The program's goal is to help storm-affected residents become self-sufficient.

HUD will work with about 375 public housing authorities and 12,000 landlords participating in the Disaster Housing Assistance Program.