HOUMA, LOUISIANA (July 24, 2024) – Today the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the award of $56.5 million to the United Houma Nation (UHN) to implement the UHN’s comprehensive plan to advance resilience.
The UHN, in partnership with the Community Resilience Center at The Water Institute(CRC), Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF), the Law Offices of Michael J. Billiot, and the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, secured $56,573,066 to implement four out of five phases of their Hazard Mitigation and Resilience Plan.
The plan includes Phase 1: Enhance the central community resilience hub, the current UHN administration building; Phase 2: Establish and enhance satellite community resilience hubs in each of the six service area parishes; Phase 3: Strengthen and expand communications; and Phase 5: Explore community-led migration strategies in the face of land loss and increased storm activity. Phase 4 is focused on building capacity for economic development and is not funded under this award.
The funding was made available through NOAA’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, a $575 million competitive grant program funded under the Inflation Reduction Act. The UHN award was part of $59.8 million total awarded to Louisiana projects to make the state’s coast more resilient to climate and other coastal hazards.
“Equitably and effectively strengthening a community’s ability to address climate change means enabling the leadership of those who have been most affected by climate impacts, and actively working with them to address these impacts,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “This funding provides Louisiana communities with the resources that empower local leaders, building their capacity for coordination and resilience now and into the future.”
The resilience advancements made possible by the federal grant will serve the United Houma Nation and residents across six parishes: Lafourche, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Mary, St. Bernard and Terrebonne.
“This is an exciting day for the Houma people,” said UHN Principal Chief Lora Ann Chaisson. “The development of this hazard mitigation plan will benefit our tribal citizens for generations to come. Thank you to NOAA and our partners for helping us to make this vision a reality.”
"The Water Institute is honored to partner with the United Houma Nation in this vital initiative," said Beaux Jones, President and CEO of The Water Institute. "To better understand and address the risks and opportunities for coastal communities, it is imperative that we look to local and Indigenous knowledge first. Together, with the generational expertise and experience of the Houma people with the additional expertise and resources of the partners, we can foster a sustainable and resilient future for this community and serve as a model for others."
The Community Resilience Center at The Water Institute began working with the United Houma Nation in 2023, and partnered together through the Greater New Orleans Foundation Next 100 Year Challenge. The institute assisted with the grant proposal writing and strategy. During implementation of the Hazard Mitigation and Resilience Plan, The Water Institute will help build UHN’s capacity and support UHN staff throughout the project with Institute staff counterparts and expertise.
“The United Houma Nation’s Hazard Mitigation and Resilience Plan is a thoughtful and common-sense approach to resilience – addressing today’s hazard needs while also working on long-term comprehensive resilience that considers things like economics, education, housing, and sense of community and culture.” said Renee Collini, Director of the Community Resilience Center at The Water Institute. “One of the best parts about this effort is it is built on needs expressed by UHN citizens and moving forward the project has been designed to integrate the perspectives of the community at every step.”
GNOF provided technical support workshops and a seed grant to pursue this NOAA award. The funding from GNOF enabled UHN to engage additional expertise to support the proposal including designs and concepts of the retrofits, cost estimates, and grant writing and strategy. Because of their investment, the UHN was able to construct a well-developed, detailed, and competitive project plan and proposal.
“On behalf of all of us at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, congratulations to the United Houma Nation on being awarded this transformative grant that will help create a more resilient and sustainable community for all,” said Andy Kopplin, President and CEO, of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “We are proud to have played a role by investing to support UHN’s outstanding vision after they won a grant in our resilience competition, The Next 100 Years Challenge. When we created the Next 100 Years Challenge, it was our goal to inspire nonprofits and their governmental partners to develop great ideas for public infrastructure that can earn state and federal investments. The UHN's success in turning our investment into tens of millions of dollars is incredibly gratifying to us, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this project will have for the community in the years and decades to come.”
Media Contacts:
Sherry Parfait, United Houma Nation, 615-429-2511/sherry@parfaitmedia.com
Renee Aragon Dolese, The Water Institute,raragon@thewaterinstitute.org
Courtney Thomas-Barnes, Greater New Orleans Foundation, Courtney@gnof.org
ABOUT THE UNITED HOUMA NATION
The United Houma Nation (UHN) is the largest Indigenous Tribe in the State of Louisiana, with the majority of our 19,000 tribal citizens residing along the coastal bayous of Southeast Louisiana. The UHN’s six-parish service area encompasses Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, St. Mary, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. Our mission is to preserve our tribal heritage and to educate the community about our history. For more information on the United Houma Nation, call (985) 223-3093 or visit www.unitedhoumanation.org.
ABOUT THE WATER INSTITUTE
As an independent, non-profit applied research institution, The Water Institute is driven by the mission to advance science and develop integrated methods to solve complex environmental and societal challenges. Our strength is in our diversity, with our leading experts transcending disciplinary boundaries and collaborating across government, private industry, academia and communities. We are a center of innovation providing actionable science and decision-making support to empower stakeholders and communities. We believe in and strive for more resilient and equitable communities, sustainable environments, and thriving economies. The Community Resilience Center at The Water Institute’s mission is to increase climate resilience in the Gulf Coast by addressing systemic barriers and making available more capacity and expertise to support a broader array of communities. Learn more at www.thewaterinstitute.org.
ABOUT THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION
With roots extending over 100 years, the Greater New Orleans Foundation connects generous people to the causes that spark their passion. As one of the most trusted philanthropic organizations in the region, we work every day to drive positive impact by championing charitable giving, strengthening nonprofits, and leading civic projects in our thirteen-parish region. In addition to grantmaking, we convene people, resources, and ideas to create intelligent strategies and solutions to meet our region’s greatest challenges. We are proud to serve as a vocal civic leader with our partners to ensure an economically and culturally vibrant, sustainable, and just region for all. Learn more at www.gnof.org.