AP: Shift Sought for New Orleans Levee Funds

[Eugene]

Shift Sought for New Orleans Levee Funds
New Orleans Mayor Protests As Corps Seeks to Divert
Repair Funds From East Bank of Mississippi

By CAIN BURDEAU

NEW ORLEANS Feb 3, 2007 (AP)— The Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to divert
up to $1.3 billion for levee repairs from the Mississippi River's East Bank, which was
ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, to the West Bank, where tens of thousands of people
have resettled.

The West Bank was one of the only parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area spared
the flooding that followed the 2005 hurricane. But the levees protecting it and the
roughly 250,000 people who live there are inadequate, the corps concedes.

If approved, the plan has the potential to slow new levee work on the East Bank,
where most of New Orleans is situated, and pit the city's residents against those
on the West Bank.

-snip-

The shift in funding is outlined in a budget proposal to be released this week and which
Congress must approve. It would bring the total earmarked for West Bank projects to
$3.3 billion, the bulk of $5.7 billion approved to fix and shore up the levees after Katrina.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Ray Nagin said the mayor is not pleased with the plans and
wants the corps "to live up to the promise of full protection" for the city.

-snip-

Full article: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2847440

[LeftyMom]

1. More drowning Peter to protect Paul (and knowing the ACOE, he's doomed too)

There really needs to be some serious investigation into the ACOE and their flood protection people. A couple of years ago they put a bunch of areas here off of the hundred year flood plain map, meaning they would no longer be required to get flood insurance in those areas- now, after upgrading the levees some more and only a few years later, they're putting a lot of them back on. Meanwhile, people built homes in stupid places based on the false sense of security they got from flawed flood plain maps and didn't budget for the added cost of flood insurance, because the Army Corps of Engineers employs the only people who lack the sense to know that if you live in a town with two largish rivers, flooding is a real possibility and insurance is just down the list from a watertight roof, electricity and plumbing on things your home needs.

Bottom line, they don't know what the hell they're doing, here or in New Orleans and probably everyplace in between. It's a fucking scandal and heads ought to roll.

[Miss Chybil]

2. How about they get a few of the hundreds of billions Bush is sending to Iraq? nt

[Acadia Blue]

3. If that dummy had not invaded Iraq there would be more than enough

money to rebuild the levees to a 5 category. I called Landrieu's office and begged for them not to vote to give dummy permission to use force. I told them he was on can short of a six pack. She and most of the other dems did not listen and here we are in this huge mess with an idiot at the helm of our ship of state.