HAHNVILLE — In early February, St. Charles Parish officials organized the Flood Aware committee to develop a public information plan that better informs residents of local flood risks and promotes flood insurance coverage.

The finalized Program for Public Information (PPI) plan will be sent to the National Flood Insurance Program as part of their “Community Rating System.” Under this system, St. Charles Parish is currently rated an eight, which reflects a 10% reduction in flood insurance rates for residents. If approved, the parish hopes to be rated a seven, which will reflect an additional 5% off.

“Affordable flood insurance rates was a key goal when we came into office a year ago,” said St. Charles Parish President Larry Cochran “I am proud of my administration for putting together this committee to not only inform our residents, but potentially save them money.”

Requirements of the (PPI) program include: targeting an audience, formulating a message, identifying outreach projects, examining existing public information projects and implementing, monitoring and evaluating the program’s success.

“We already produce many outreach projects that qualify for points in this program,” said Public Information Officer Tristan Babin. “It will be a matter of bringing these things under one message, documenting what is being done and expanding on where we may fall short.”

The Flood Aware committee is being led by the Public Information Office and the parish’s coastal zone management team and includes representatives from the local chamber of commerce, industry, real estate, banks and nonprofits who will meet quarterly. The first meeting was held on Feb. 7.