First came the storm that wiped out the city. Then came lagging restoration efforts, despite determined-sounding promises from government officials. Now comes the news from the Bush administration that due to rising costs New Orleans may not be able to be totally protected again, despite earlier statements:
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.
Donald E. Powell, the administration’s rebuilding coordinator, said some areas may be left without the protection of levees strong enough to meet requirements of the national flood insurance program. Those areas probably would face enormous obstacles in attracting home buyers and investors willing to build there.
The news represents a shift for the administration; President Bush had pledged in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina to rebuild New Orleans “higher and better.” Now, some areas may lose out as they compete for levee protection. Powell’s announcement, in a conference call with reporters, prompted denunciations from state and local officials who said the federal government is reneging on promises to rebuild the entire region.
“This monumental miscalculation is an outrage,” said Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). “This means that, just two months before hurricane season, the Corps of Engineers informs us they cannot ensure even the minimum safety of southeastern Louisiana. This is totally unacceptable.”
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 Washington Post piece goes on to say that tensions between administration officials and state and local leaders in Louisiana now could not be worse:
State and local leaders said the U.S. government had broken a trust and appeared to backing away from commitments to rebuild. Louisiana officials also questioned why federal engineers are just now announcing that the task would cost $6 billion more.
“Every time we turn around, there’s a new obstacle,” said Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.). “The estimates were done for rebuilding the levees, and a number was given to the administration and to the Congress. Now all of a sudden they say they made a $6 billion mistake?”
Melancon said he wondered whether the changes reflected the comments made by officials such as House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) after the storm questioning the wisdom of rebuilding the low-lying city.
Maybe it doesn’t reflect those comments — but it seems to reflect that attitude. And, indeed, on one hand you could say that assessment is speaking realistically. On the other hand, it is a valid question: isn’t a $6 billion mistake on an estimate enough to raise both eyebrows and your neck? How was it made? Who made it? Why? And what does it say about the thoroughness and competence of those who made the earlier estimate — and those who supervise them?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.