(WVLA) – Gov. John Bel Edwards petitioned a restitution for homeowners that have been affected by floods Tuesday.

Provided by the Restore Louisiana Task Force, the reimbursement grant award would be disposed to qualified homeowners participating in the Restore Homeowner Assistance Program. 

Members of the task force are expected to vote to approve this reimbursement during a meeting on Friday, July 13.

“This program change would result in an additional $110 million in reimbursement grant funds being made available to more than 10,000 eligible homeowners, said Gov. Edwards.

“It has always been our goal to provide as much assistance as possible to homeowners who are stretching their hard-earned paychecks and are tapping into their savings to recover from the devastating floods of March and August 2016. Increasing the reimbursement amount will help ease the burdens of thousands. As the program survey deadline of July 20, 2018 quickly approaches, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the needs of flood-affected homeowners across the state. I know members of the task force are committed to helping homeowners rebuild and understand how this expansion will provide much needed additional assistance.”

Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) issued the following statement regarding Governor Edwards’ request:

We strongly support the governor’s action today to increase federal financial assistance to flood victims and will continue to work with HUD, the state and the Restore Program to speed the distribution of recovery funding to impacted homeowners so that they can get back in their homes and return to some degree of normalcy. Importantly, the increase in payments will not jeopardize federal funding available in the Restore program to compensate Duplication of Benefits victims once the U.S. Senate acts on our legislation. We commend Governor Edwards for acting.”

According to a news release, over 52,000 homeowners have completed the program survey and 37,000 homeowners have submitted formal applications to date.

More than 33,000 applications have been processed and grant determinations made, and 12,750 eligible homeowners have been offered grant awards totaling more than $342 million.

Friday, July 20, 2018, is the deadline for homeowners who have not completed the initial survey to do so in order to participate in the Restore Program. 

To access the survey, click here.

You may also call 1-866-735-2001 from Monday-Friday.