By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

CONVENT — Louisiana congressional leaders announced this week that federal funding from President Barak Obama’s economic stimulus plan has been granted for improvements to a water treatment plant on the east bank of St. James Parish.

Senator Mary Landrieu and Rep. Charlie Melancon said this week that the parish would receive $1.6 million in federal Recovery Act investment money to expand the capacity of the Convent water treatment plant with the hopes that it could enable new industries to locate in the parish, creating many new jobs in the region.

“This investment will ensure that St. James Parish is a viable candidate for companies such as Nucor Steel, which could create more than a thousand high-paying jobs in the region,” Landrieu said. “This investment will also help bolster St. James’ recovery from Hurricane Gustav, which caused significant damage in the region last year.”

Projects tied to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 are chosen based on their capacity to create jobs and boost development in parts of the country hit hard by the economic slowdown. St. James Parish suffered damage from Hurricane Gustav in 2008, and its population has grown since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita due to evacuees from more coastal parts of the state.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA), which is funding the grant, and officials from the parish estimate the expansion project could create more than 1,200 new jobs and leverage $3 billion in private investment for the region. The St. James project is part of EDA initiatives nationwide receiving $150 million in federal funding through the economic stimulus plan.

“This grant is important for both the residents of east bank and the business development of the entire parish,” said St. James Parish President Dale Hymel. “We are very excited about the major improvements we will be able to make to our public infrastructure with this federal funding.”

The stimulus grant award marks the second time in four years that federal funds would be put toward improvements at the Convent treatment plant.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a Hazard Mitigation grant of $554,000 to go toward protecting the building from hurricane force winds and rain. The improvements included retrofitting doors and windows on the building. It also went toward elevating the plant’s electrical and water process controls.