[StBernard] Petition to Stop Funding MRGO

[Westley Annis]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 13, 2005

CONTACT: SEN. BOASSO

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PHONE: 225-342-2415

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*_STATE SENS. BOASSO, DUPLESSIS & REP. HUTTER URGE CONGRESS TO STOP 
FUNDING MISS RIVER GULF OUTLET PROJECT_*

*_ENCOURAGE CITIZENS TO JOIN EFFORT_*

Concerned about the safety of the surrounding areas, District 1 State 
Senator Walter Boasso (R-Arabi) wants to make sure no more money is 
spent to maintain the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, also known as MRGO. 
Joined by District 2 State Senator Ann Duplessis (D-New Orleans) and 
District 104 State Representative Nita Hutter (R-Chalmette), Senator 
Boasso is urging the Louisiana Congressional delegation to do everything 
in its power to make sure Congress ceases all funding currently directed 
to the project immediately. The lawmakers are also urging concerned 
citizens to get involved, either by contacting their representatives in 
Congress or by signing a petition, which can be found on Senator 
Boasso’s Web site at _http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Boasso/petition.asp_.

Dug four decades ago, the MRGO was intended to be a direct deepwater 
connection between the Gulf of Mexico and the Port of New Orleans. But 
few vessels utilize the waterway, and citizens as well as government 
officials are concerned about the potential dangers the waterway 
harbors, especially in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In addition to 
providing hurricanes with a clear path to New Orleans and surrounding 
areas, the expanse of water in the MRGO is vulnerable to deadly storm 
surges. This was evidenced by the massive and disastrous flooding from 
Hurricane Katrina of St. Bernard Parish, through which the MRGO flows.

"As a businessman myself, I certainly don’t want to see any businesses 
hurt, but we just lost 30,000 homes in St. Bernard, another 10,000 in 
the Lower Ninth Ward, and an undetermined amount in New Orleans East. 
It’s clear that the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet was a factor in those 
losses, and we don’t want to repeat history. We are tired of the federal 
government playing Russian roulette with our lives," Senator Boasso said.

The MRGO is longer and wider than the Panama Canal, and costs tens of 
millions of dollars annually to keep dredged, despite being seldom-used. 
Summer winds push the salty Gulf water up the waterway to the 
Mississippi River, causing harm to marine life and sometimes defiling 
drinking water. And erosion has caused the waterway to widen 
exponentially, increasing all dangers associated with the MRGO.

"For years, the Congress of the United States has risked the lives of 
citizens to support the shipping industry. If the millions of dollars 
spent maintaining the MRGO had been invested in the levee and flood 
protection systems, the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina would 
not have been as severe, instead of tearing apart countless lives in New 
Orleans and St. Bernard," Senator Duplessis said. "I’m a banker and a 
businesswoman, but I cannot support the U.S. investment in an industry 
that passes through our city at the cost of the lives of the citizens 
that make our area unique."

More information and this and other Hurricane Katrina-related issues is 
available on Senator Boasso’s Web site at 
_http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Boasso.asp_, or by contacting his 
temporary district office at 225-342-2415.

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