Editorial: Reality: There Are More States Than Louisiana To Fix

Last week we urged Congress to help President Bush keep his promise to help hurricane-devastated areas of the Gulf Coast to recover. Our concern and the concern of industry leaders is that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was forced to utilize for recovery-financing $300 million in budget money that was intended for waterway projects. The original supplemental funding bill for recovery, which took the pressure off the Corps, ran out weeks ago.

Having said that, we now turn our attention to recent comments by the Louisiana Governor’s Task Force Chairman Larry Rase (WJ, November 28). Congress and Rase know that Louisiana is not the only “kid” on the block. It would seem prudent for the federal government to consider all of them at once. Some Mississippians have already expressed the notion that they felt like orphaned cousins, perhaps undeserving.

Rase says business interests will not return to Louisiana unless the levee system is rebuilt to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. If we understand correctly all the reports we have seen about the 350 miles of levee in the New Orleans area, some were not up to withstanding a Category 3 storm. Inadequate construction practices may have been a major culprit.

The question posed by many observers is whether or not New Orleans should be rebuilt in the same “bowl” where it is now. There is a distinct difference between locating homes in harm’s way and locating water transportation-related businesses close to water where they need to be.

It is foolish for U.S. taxpayers to continue paying via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in order for homeowners to rebuild in harm’s way. Hurricane victims rebuilt in the same place, knowing full well that FEMA will pay. The Corps and Louisiana officials have known for decades that a Katrina would finally come. Always, something has stood in the way of getting the levee projects done adequately. Blame those you will; there is enough blame to go around.

A report out of Hancock County, Miss., gives us another view of damage and recovery experienced so far. It was reported that the Corps, as of November 19, had removed 1.5 million cubic yards of debris from that county alone. Another 6 million cubic yards remains in piles along roads and on private property. To do this, the Corps has used a contract company and dozens of smaller subcontractors.

In Hancock County alone, the Corps collected 6,734 right-of-entry forms (so far) so that contractors can legally enter damaged homes, remove debris, and do whatever the situation calls for. According to one newspaper, of the 6,734 forms, 4,855 were turned over to the county for inspection; 518 were returned and approved. After the county inspection, the Corps has to inspect them, and as of November 19th, the Corps had inspected 325. Only 22 right-of-way forms have gone through the entire process. Remember that we’re still talking one county.

FEMA agreed to pay 100 percent of the cost of debris removed by November 26. After that, the agency will pay 90 percent, with the county and state picking up 5 percent each.

The fix in the wake of the hurricanes is a lot bigger than most of us have imagined. The magnitude cannot be compared to the recovery after 9/11 or to the World Series earthquake in San Francisco. The only common thread is that federal help is/was required.

By the admission of its directors, FEMA has been overwhelmed by the hurricane’s aftermath. Even if the agency had worked to perfection, it still would have been overwhelmed. Numerous reports indicate Louisiana did not carry out its emergency planning efficiently, thus the aftermath was more serious than it should have been.

At Pass Christian, Miss., Mayor Billy McDonald said hundreds of square miles of Mississippi coastland looks little better today than it did in early September. At least 200,000 Mississippians remain displaced. FEMA is short 13,000 trailers to house them, he said. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) was quoted as saying, “FEMA continues to be able to mess up a one-car funeral—we don’t begin to have enough money for major construction.”

Yes, the fix is a lot bigger than most of us have imagined. Rebuild the Louisiana levee system to withstand a Category 5 hurricane? According to the Corps, it will have its hands full just stabilizing the portions of the levees that failed before the hurricane season returns in June. The entire area could be struck again by a hurricane equal to Katrina long before such a Herculean task could be completed. Sometimes 100-year and 500-year storms strike only months or a few years apart. There are no guarantees.

Even if we had the money, it is unlikely that such a remarkable reconstruction feat could be accomplished in such a short span of time. By one man’s estimate, it could take years to clean up just Hancock County.

Unusual problems may justify unusual solutions. Sometimes contractors thought to be incapable of meeting deadlines are bypassed. We have been among those grousing about policies being bent or broken. Nevertheless, even though we want to see efficiency, we see no reason to award contracts to those whose performance shows they cannot get the job done, whether they are from the hurricane-ravaged areas or not.

Our own take on Louisiana and its track record lead us to believe that the federal government should not march to the drumbeat of that state’s leaders. They certainly are not unbiased onlookers. From the greedy standpoint of looking after water transport facilities, we must acknowledge that there are needy facilities all across the Gulf.

So far, much of the reporting has been about the needs of New Orleans and how Louisiana folks feel about the recovery effort. We do agree that the importance of that transportation corridor cannot be ignored.

But if, as Rase says, business in Louisiana will wait for Category 5 protection before it returns, the area will be in a sad state of affairs for a long time. As for those in marine transportation, they are already working hard to restore transportation services where possible.

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