[StBernard] Bill includes $1.1 billion for coastal restoration

[Westley Annis]

By Bruce Alpert 
Washington bureau

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a major water resources
bill that authorizes $1.1 billion in coastal restoration programs for
Louisiana, sets up streamlined procedures to authorize additional
restoration and hurricane protections, while making the Army Corps of
Engineers subject to independent oversight in the aftermath of the deadly
levee failures during Hurricane Katrina. 

"Louisiana's hurricane, flood and coastal protection took a giant leap
forward today with the passage," of the legislation, Sen. David Vitter,
R-La., said. 

Added to the bill was a provision offered by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and
Russ Feingold, D-Wis., to require outside experts to review every project of
more than $40 million for engineering design, costs and environmental
consequences. Similar proposals have been defeated in the past, but the
engineering failures blamed for the collapse of levees that flooded 80
percent of New Orleans after Katrina put pressure on senators to approve
more than cosmetic changes in the corps. The amendment won in a 54-46 vote. 

"While any hurricane that makes landfall will leave some level of
destruction behind, the country has been shocked to learn that there were
engineering flaws in the New Orleans levees and that important information
was ignored by the Corps," Feingold said. Had the independent review process
been required before Katrina, "much of the flooding possibly could have been
averted" because the levee flaws could have uncovered in time for
correction. 
Among other things, the bill requires an evaluation of all levee systems
that significantly impact public safety. 

McCain said he had always talked about cost overruns as justification to put
the corps under more oversight. "We showed in New Orleans we're not just
talking about cost overruns. We're talking about lives of our citizens," he
said. 

The water resources bill, which was passed by voice vote, not only
authorizes $1.1 billion for a Louisiana coastal ecosystem restoration
project recommended by the corps, but requires a corps report on future
restoration projects identified by the state by the end of 2008. The
proposed works have a current price estimate of $728.2 million. Those
projects could win authorization by votes by the committees with
jurisdiction over water projects in the House and Senate and would not
require action by Congress. 

Likewise, the bill language says that projects identified by the corps as
part of an analysis of Category 5 hurricane protection mandated by Congress
could also win authorization by votes in the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
without waiting for full congressional action. 

That language is significant, said Vitter, a member of the committee,
because getting water authorization bills passed is often time consuming.
The bill passed Wednesday was due for congressional action more than six
years ago. 

Vitter called the measure's passage critical to the state's recovery from
Hurricane Katrina. It now must be reconciled with a water bill passed by the
House in 2005 before Hurricane Katrina struck. 

The authorizations don't guarantee that Congress and the White House
actually will allocate the money needed for the projects, including advanced
hurricane protection work that the corps says will likely cost tens of
billions of dollars. 

Vitter and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said that the significant needs
Louisiana has in terms of hurricane protection and coastal restoration makes
the case that the state needs to share in off-shore oil and gas royalty
payments so it has a regular source of financing for the critical work
ahead. 

Vitter and Landrieu voted differently on the McCain-Feingold amendment, with
Landrieu supporting it and Vitter backing an alternative proposal by the
chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that set
higher thresholds for oversight and would have given the corps more say on
how the oversight was conducted. 

Landrieu said that after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, it became
"abundantly clear to the people of Louisiana that the corps needed reform,"
and she said that the McCain-Feingold amendment provides some of the needed
remedies. 

"The McCain-Feingold reforms will provide improved oversight, which is
essential to protecting human life, homes and communities," Landrieu said.
"We've seen what happens when levees don't work. Stronger technical review
will help prevent the design flaws that can prove to be so damaging." 

Vitter said that he was concerned that the McCain-Feingold proposal would
delay needed projects in Louisiana, although the two sponsors disputed that.


In any case, at Vitter's prodding the bill creates a five-member Louisiana
Water Resources Council, including experts in hurricane protection, coastal
restoration, engineering and geology, along with a representative of the
Corps of Engineers, to review all major hurricane protection and coastal
restoration work in the state. 

"Together, this five-person council will have active oversight and peer
review authority over all corps projects in South Louisiana," he said. 

The Senate didn't give McCain and Feingold a complete victory. It rejected
their second amendment that would have required the corps to prioritize
projects aimed at protecting lives and property. Some supporters of their
main amendment, including Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said those decisions
should be left to elected officials who are accountable with voters. 

Among the Louisiana projects authorized in the bill:
--$1.1 billion for coastal restoration, including $828.3 million for five
projects identified by the state and Corps of Engineers as their top initial
priorities.

--$841 million for Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Protection.

--$175 million in grants and $200 million in loans to help relocate
businesses impacted by the closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet,
which is blamed for adding to the storm surge during Hurricane Katrina
 
 "With today's passage of (the water bill), we are one step closer to the
closure of MR-GO," Vitter said.

(Bruce Alpert can be reached at bruce.alpert at newhouse.com or (202)
383-7861.)