[StBernard] Rebuild on hold no flood insurance?

[Westley Annis]

This is plain nuts.  FEMA is an agency under the federal Administriation,
meaning the President of the United States runs FEMA.  All the President has
to do is issue an executive order to FEMA stating the level to which the
Corps of Engineers will reconstruct the levees is acceptable.  The
bureaucrats at FEMA will just have to eat it and carry out whatever the
President decrees.

So, I suggest everyone contact members of our Congressional delegation and
request they petition President Bush to issue and executive order to FEMA to
waive current agency requirements on the levees under repair thus allowing
flood insurance to be obtained.

A simple stroke of the pen is all it takes.  Congressional approval is not
required.

John Scurich


----- Original Message -----

>

> >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.

>

>

****************************************************************************

> *********

> 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

>

>