News Roundup

President Bush Czar Powell Informs Louisiana $6B Needed For Levee Certification

BayouBuzz.com
March 29, 2006
By Steve Sabludowsky

New Orleans and Louisiana will be required to wait even longer for the FEMA flood maps that are so critical for the rebuild of New Orleans and portions of South Louisiana.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, it appears that President Bush’s Gulf Czar, Donald Powell has given the Louisiana delegation some very bad news. Based upon information obtained by Bayoubuzz, Powell has been informed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs $6 billion dollars more for the Corps to certify levee systems. Without the money and the ultimate certification, FEMA will not release its maps that have been so anxiously awaited by so many neighborhoods, property owners and evacuees. Powell has communicated the Corps 6 billion dollar request to the Louisiana delegation Wednesday evening.

Here is a statement from Congressman William Jefferson concerning the issue:

Following an evening meeting with Gulf Coast Recovery Czar Donald Powell, U.S. Representative William Jefferson (D-LA) announced that $6 billion more is needed to certify levees surrounding his Orleans and Jefferson Parish district, as well as other Southeastern Louisiana parishes, to move forward with rebuilding efforts. In the meeting, Powell released new cost estimates for work to certify the levees, which is necessary to complete Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps - a determining factor in city planning and rebuilding efforts.

“Congress needs to immediately authorize $6 billion more so that the FEMA flood maps can be completed with plans for stronger, certified levees in place,” Jefferson said. “These funds are crucial to the release of the flood maps, and the maps are crucial to the future of our city and region. People cannot rebuild or get new flood insurance without knowing the proper elevation standards for their homes and neighborhoods. This money is a critical component of our rebuilding effort.”

Powell released the new cost estimates to the delegation after only recently receiving the information from the Army Corps of Engineers. Funding for the certified levees will affect the way FEMA determines elevation standards, as the stronger levees could ensure the safety of more residents, in more neighborhoods. New FEMA flood maps were expected for the New Orleans area by the end of March; Mississippi received new FEMA flood requirements in November of last year.

“Unfortunately, this information was not provided to Mr. Powell, the Louisiana delegation or Congress sooner but I urge my colleagues not to let this new information prevent urgent action,” Jefferson said. “The need to certify our levees and complete the flood maps is real and we should act immediately to correct the Corps´ earlier mistakes, which compromised the safety of hundreds of thousands of people, so that Americans can return and rebuild their homes and their lives.”

In her opening statement to the Legislature on Monday, Governor Blanco emphasized the importance of the FEMA maps. Blanco said, “I created a housing registry so we could implement the state´s housing plan as soon as the FEMA flood maps, local rebuilding decisions, and federal money become available.

I recently met with displaced residents enrolling in our registry. Over 87,000 homeowners have called our registry thus far. I heard optimism in the voices of people wanting to return home. We must honor their optimism with results.

As the federally required public comment period for different stages of our housing plan concludes, I will call upon this legislature to adopt resolutions signing off on the plan. These resolutions will allow us to move forward with our application for the Community Development Block Grant funding.

With your approval, we can send our plans to Washington and get this money where it belongs: Into the hands of our people.

Four of our parishes are still awaiting the FEMA flood maps that determine base elevation requirements. Local governments must have the FEMA flood maps to determine the footprints for rebuilding safely. Seven months have passed, and we are still waiting.

Now, it appears, the wait will be much longer than expected.