[StBernard] NY Times: WH Commitment "A Down Payment on New Orleans"

[Westley Annis]

New York Times Editorial: Rebuilding Levees to Withstand Cat 5 Hurricanes --
Issue is not whether to do it, "but how to do it right"



December 19, 2005
Editorial
NY Times

A Down Payment on New Orleans 

It is cheering to see that New Orleans has not been completely forgotten.
The White House's request for an additional $1.5 billion for hurricane
protection demonstrates that the city's fate has not slipped entirely off
the agenda in Washington. As a result, residents hoping to return to their
homes in time for Christmas can think about rebuilding with a little more
confidence tha! n before. 

Most important of all, it ought to remove from the table for good the
question of whether we should or would rebuild the city. We must rebuild it
- or to be more precise, give New Orleans the ability to rebuild itself. The
administration has indicated it will stand by President Bush's pledge to do
so. The issue now is not whether to do it, but how to do it right. 

As a first step, the White House request is a good one. But if this is the
entire plan to protect greater New Orleans, it is woefully insufficient. It
may protect against a storm of Katrina's size, but probably not a more
ferocious one. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana probably put it
best when she called it a "down payment." 

The president's absence at the announcement is also duly noted. He needs to
step up personally and more forcefully to ensure that New Orleans receives
the support he has promised it. And even this interim victory can't be
declared too soon - Congress still needs to act on his proposal and the
larger aid package of which it would be a part. 

The president had previously committed $1.6 billion to repair the levees and
the floodwalls that failed during Hurricane Katrina, patching and restoring
them to their strength before the monster storm hit. The additional money
would be used to reinforce the levees where they are vulnerable with
concrete and rock. It would pay for new pumping stations to get the water
out of the city. Several canals that carried the massive storm surge would
be closed off, most likely with gates. 

On the day of the announcement, the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, stood
next to Mr. Bush's Hurricane Katrina reconstruction czar, Donald Powell, and
praised the plan. He said that the city had a commitment and financing for
hurricane protection beyond what it had ever had before. Mr. Nagin said, "I
want to say to all New Orleanians, to all businesses, 'It's time for you to
come home.' " 

We owe it to those who heed the mayor's call to raise the system's strength
until it can endure a Category 5 storm. That means more than just bracing
existing walls. It means restoring the vanishing natural defenses of the
wetlands, which need to be a significant share of any comprehensive plan.
That alone will cost billions, but current proposals include just $250
million. 

We can greet the new commitment warmly while still marveling that the city
and the state had to beg and wait for what amounts to a rounding error in
the federal budget. This is a good start. But more than 100 days after
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, we should have long since moved
beyond a good start. 

__________________________________ 

The LRA, a 26- member body appointed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
to identify and prioritize short and long-term needs of the recovery, is the
planning and coordinating body that will assist in implementing the
Governor's vision for the recovery of Louisiana. It will seek out and value
local input as it plans and implements the recovery. 

### 

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies. 

1-877-HELPLA1 (877-435-7521) www.louisianahelp.org