Ouachita included in federal disaster declaration posted Friday, December 11th, 2009 @ 7:55 am  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Thursday that portions of the state including Ouachita Parish have been approved for a major disaster declaration by the federal government. The major declaration authorizes Stafford Act Public Assistance Program funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist parishes recovering from severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in October and November. "This is good news for our Louisiana communities hit by the severe weather this October and November," Jindal said. "These public assistance funds will provide communities the support they need to rebuild and repair critical infrastructure, in addition to helping them pay the costs they incurred while responding to the storms this fall." FEMA's notification to the state said FEMA Public Assistance (PA) program will provide assistance for repairs to damaged public facilities in nine parishes: Beauregard, Bossier, Caldwell, Claiborne, De Soto, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Union and Webster. FEMA denied Jindal's request for assistance for two parishes: Caddo and Jefferson Davis, saying the parishes did not meet the federal eligibility requirements for assistance because damage did not rise above the minimum threshold. Jindal requested a major disaster declaration from President Obama in a Nov. 30, letter, following the state's emergency declaration on Oct. 30. The letter also included a request for funding under FEMA's Individual Assistance Program to assist those individuals who experienced damage to their homes as a result of the severe weather. FEMA said the damage to individual property did not reach its minimum threshold, however, and funding through that program was not authorized.