[StBernard] Disaster Relief Update From State Senator Walter Boasso

[Westley Annis]

Disaster Relief Update From State Senator Walter Boasso 

November 9, 2005


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Via Fax: 703-693-4410, DSN-223

LTG Carl A. Strock
Chief of Engineers and Commander, USACE
2600 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-2600

Re: Request to Close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) not tomorrow
but NOW ! 

Dear Lieutenant General Strock:

In your capacity as Chief of Engineers and the Commander of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, we sincerely hope you are well aware of the devastation
to Louisiana's southeastern coastal parishes due to the disastrous effects
of Hurricane Katrina on August 29. Because your office defines the policy
and directional plans of the Corps, the shattered community I serve implores
you to stop the maintenance and upkeep of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
(MRGO).

This navigational channel was the critical source of the storm surge that
invaded my Senate district, killing over 120 residents in St. Bernard Parish
and countless others in eastern New Orleans. Is the number of dead not high
enough? Is 27,000 destroyed homes too small a number?

Such hard questions deserve an answer, because it is our current
understanding that vessels are attempting to navigate the now-shallow
channel on their way to the Port of New Orleans. It is our hope that these
vessels get stuck in the mud and form a steel barrier to any other vessels
making their way up the channel. Until that happens, please do not authorize
any dredging of the MRGO as this would surely have the effect of kicking mud
in our already sludge-covered faces.

Every wave from the wake of every ship erodes more and more of our region's
hurricane-protection system. Yes, improvements to our hurricane protection
levees is necessary, but so is the closure of the MRGO. The recovery and
prosperity of our region depends on it !

With best regards,

Senator Walter J. Boasso