Lafourche details tiered re-entry program; to be initiated in the wake of hurricanes

Lafourche Parish will be implementing its badge re-entry program this year following hurricane strikes for officials and business owners determined critical to recovery.

Officials are issued identification cards as part of the program, which was started in 2007 for last year’s hurricane season.

Police, firefighters, emergency medical service technicians, essential hospital staff, Public Works Department personnel and utility company personnel are in the Tier I category and will be allowed back first.

Major employers and businesses designated essential to allowing residents back into the parish are in Tier II and will follow Tier I personnel. Assessment teams of two to three people who will examine critical infrastructure also belong to Tier II.

Residents will be allowed back after the first two groups.

Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph will work with the parish’s director of Emergency Management and law enforcement to ensure that roadways are safe before permitting members of Tier I to re-enter.

Only members carrying the identification card will be allowed back.

Riders in the vehicle without a card will be refused entrance.

When going through other parishes to return to Lafourche, a tier member should have a letter with an official letterhead indicating the reason he or she is essential.

A company that issues credentials to non-essential employees will have its re-entry privileges revoked.

For a re-entry application, go to lafourchegov.org, click on departments, Office of Emergency Preparedness, and “Lafourche Parish Government Tier Re-Entry Criteria & Application Form.”

Call (985) 532-8174 or 537-7603 for more information.