[StBernard] Rebuild on hold no flood insurance?

[Westley Annis]

>From wwltv.com

 

Funding for levee repairs not nearly enough to protect area according to
FEMA


05:11 PM CST on Thursday, March 30, 2006

Dave McNamara / WWL-TV News Reporter
 
 
State officials in Louisiana expressed shock and outrage Thursday after
finding out that they'll need billions in extra dollars from Congress to
fund the minimum levee improvements to have the area qualify for national
flood insurance. 
 
"This is a monument al miscalculation," said Governor Kathleen Blanco. "It's
really an outrage." 
 
The Army Corps of Engineers is already doing $2 billion worth of work to fix
the levees that were damaged, breached or flattened by hurricane Katrina and
another $1.5 billion is pending in Congress to continue the work for the
next few years. But the pre-Katrina standard the work is aiming for, will
not fortify the levees to an acceptable level for FEMA to allow residents to
obtain flood insurance. 
 
Blanco said she got the news late last night, and that Congress should
investigate how the levee repair estimates could be off by $6 billion. 
"This could delay and jeopardize our recovery even more and it keeps
thousands of families and businesses on hold and in limbo," she said. 
The Corps has said repeatedly that its repairs will lead to bigger, stronger
levees that w ill stand at pre-Katrina levels. But FEMA, which runs the
National Flood Insurance Program, said that level doesn't meet the standard
it needs to protect residents from a 100-year flood event. 
 
If the Corps of Engineers can't certify that its levees will protect against
a 100-year flood, then residents may be forced to elevate homes or
businesses 10-15 feet, or perhaps as much as 30 to 35 feet above sea level
to qualify for flood insurance. 
 
The Corps blamed stronger hurricanes, years of sinking land and subsiding
levees, increased development, and wetlands loss for an entire system that's
below the flood plain. 
 
Here's the cost of bringing the New Orleans area up to the new FEMA
standard. 
 
Improvements in East New Orleans would cost $710 million.  
 
St.Bernard-Lower 9th Ward = $1 Billion.   
 
East Jefferson-St. Charles = $386 Million 
 
West Jefferson = $657 Million 
 
Algiers- Belle Chase = $290 Million 
 
That would cover 99 percent of the population. However, if you add in
Plaquemines Parish, the cost doubles with another $2.9 billion. 
That's a fact not lost on Don Powell, who leads President Bush's gulf coast
recovery effort.  
 
"One would clearly understand by looking at the chart that for roughly $2.5
to $3 billion, you would encompass about 99 percent of the population," he
said during a conference call. 
 
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So, if you have decided to rebuild, you won't be able to obta in flood
insurance because building the levees back to pre-K level won't help against
the 100 yr flood event?
 
They have just sounded the death knell for the recovery of SE Louisiana.
 
JY