LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish officials received the good news in June that the parish has advanced to the final phase, Phase 2, of the $1 Billion National Disaster Resiliency Competition.

“This could mean millions of dollars toward much needed projects in our parish,” Public Information Office Baileigh Rebowe Helm said.

President Barack Obama announced the competition last year in response to demand from state and local leaders working to increase the safety and security of their communities.

The competition promotes risk assessment and planning for implementation of innovative resilience projects to better prepare communities for future storms and other extreme events.

Helm said Phase 2 of the competition will consist of project developments, and St. John Parish officials will submit projects and identify vulnerabilities within parish infrastructure.

“St. John Parish officials plan to take an active approach to Phase 2,” Helm said.

“A meeting is being scheduled to identify projects in the upcoming weeks and work aggressively on fulfilling Phase 2 requirements.”

Helm said St. John Parish joins Plaquemines, Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes under the umbrella of Louisiana projects that could be funded, and officials would work to ensure submitted projects were competitive to better position them for funding.

The competition is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Winners will see some or all of their submitted projects funded rather than receiving a lump sum.

Helm said the deadline for Phase 2 submission is Oct. 27.

Notification of allocations should come by early 2016 at the latest.

St. John Parish entered into Phase 1 of the competition in late March, and at that time officials said they would be seeking competition funding for East Bank water system improvements, consolidation and expansion of wastewater treatment plants, drainage improvements and a transformational model for developing public housing.

“Strengthening critical infrastructure to withstand the impacts of hurricanes and other severe weather events is vital to the resiliency of our parish, the region and the State of Louisiana,” Parish President Natalie Robottom said.