How does one miss a project cost estimate by a factor of 3? From the Washington Post:
The Bush administration said yesterday that the cost of rebuilding New Orleans’s levees to federal standards has nearly tripled to $10 billion and that there may not be enough money to fully protect the entire region. […]
The change followed a surprise announcement from the Army Corps of Engineers that the levee reconstruction project, most recently estimated at $3.5 billion, would now cost $9.5 billion if insurance-certified levees were extended throughout the region.
The answer? They didn’t understand the project. Evidently, the Army Corps of Engineers — with a LOT of impetus from the FEMA flood insurance folks — has just now realized that the levees are supposed to actually keep people safe; it was not just an intellectual exercise.
This, then, has been the hold up on the FEMA flood plain maps:
“We’re dialoguing with the state and local officials,” [Powell] said, adding that if there is an agreement, maps clarifying where and how homeowners can rebuild could be released in 10 days. “We haven’t decided what [amount] to ask for.”
In English, deciding “what to ask for” translates to “we’re working out which areas will not be rebuilt”, because if the ACoE can’t build a section to insurance standards, that area will not recover. Period, end of story.
The people of Louisiana and New Orleans have followed a piper, who has led them along with empty promises. Remember this?
[Powell] said the Army Corps of Engineers would correct any design flaws that may have contributed to the catastrophic flooding caused when Katrina slammed into the area Aug. 29, and would raise and strengthen levees that have settled over the years.
That was such a “lock arms and sing happy songs” moment. Poor Nagin.
“I want to say to all New Orleanians, to all businesses, it’s time for you to come home, it’s time for you to come back to the Big Easy,” Nagin said. “We now have the commitment and the funding for hurricane protection at a level that we have never had before.”
Calling it a down payment on greater protection for all of south Louisiana, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the announcement “is a strong signal to our families that they can come home and rebuild.”
Such a beautiful song the piper played. Poor Louisiana.
Polimom remembers yet another shining, hollow moment – the opening bars in the song – in September:
To every person who has served and sacrificed in this emergency, I offer the gratitude of our country. And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.
Poor America.