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Pryor introduces bill to lift restrictions on FEMA homes Thursday, Mar 2, 2006 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., on Wednesday introduced legislation aimed at moving more than 10,000 manufactured homes sitting idle in Hope to hurricane victims in neighboring states. The new homes, ordered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees, have been mired in red tape since arriving at the Hope Municipal Airport in October, Pryor said. FEMA is expected to pay between $4 million and $7 million to spread gravel in a field near the airport so the heavy prefabricated homes will not sink into the ground, Pryor added. The bill would waive the FEMA rule that bars manufactured homes from being placed in flood plains for the purpose of housing Katrina and Rita evacuees. The one-time waiver would protect FEMA from responsibility if the homes were to be flooded. The bill also would direct FEMA to publicize the homes' availability. "Let's allow the homes to go where they are needed so that the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast could return to their communities and help rebuild them," Pryor said. "The alternative seems to be to let them sit and deteriorate in Hope, Arkansas," he said. But FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews said resistance from local officials in Louisiana was the main reason the trailers remain in Hope. "There are plenty of areas outside the flood plains where we can put them," Andrews said. "Flood plain restrictions or not, we still require local permission to place mobile homes wherever we place them." Andrews said the homes in Hope were intended for evacuees in Louisiana. She said leaders from nine out of the state's 64 parishes have allowed FEMA to place the temporary homes in their communities. In all, FEMA ordered 25,000 manufactured homes, Andrews said. She said the agency expects to use the ones in Hope in other disasters. Some homes have already been sent to Oklahoma to house fire victims. Hope Mayor Dennis Ramsey said the homes have boosted the city's economy. FEMA is paying $25,000 per month to lease the land to house the homes at the city-owned airport, he said. Beyond that, 30 new jobs have been created to maintain the homes, and motel, restaurant and fuel revenues have grown, he said. "For all practical purposes, it's spawned a cottage industry," Ramsey said. "Then again, its intended purpose is not for an economic benefit for Hope, but to provide temporary housing for those folks in the Gulf Coast," he said. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, whose district includes Hope, toured the site with a FEMA official last month. He said he plans to introduce a companion bill to Pryor's legislation in the coming days. "What FEMA will tell you is 'we're not going to locate a manufactured home in a flood plain,'" Ross said. "Everybody that lost their home and needs housing right now that owns land -- their land is in a flood plain. That's why they lost their home." Ross challenged Andrews' statement that parish leaders in Louisiana are resisting FEMA efforts to place manufactured homes in their communities. "There are a number of parishes in Louisiana that want the manufactured homes, but FEMA will not let them have them because they are located in a flood zone," Ross said. E-mail: Avekshin@stephensmedia.com -- 30 -- |
