Funding Administration Support

Congress approved a large funding package for hurricane relief with $400 million for Corps missions separate from our FEMA missions. Public Law 109-062, the second emergency supplemental appropriation to Hurricane Katrina, contains $400 million for the Corps of Engineers. Of that amount, $200 million is for navigation work in the South Atlantic and Gulf regions and $200 million is for flood control and coastal emergencies.

These funds are being used for damage assessments and immediate repairs to the levees in New Orleans as well as assessments and preparations for long-term repairs for flood damage reduction there.

 4th Supplemental

On 16 February, the Bush Administration proposed a $19.8 billion supplemental spending package for improvements to hurricane protection systems in southeast Louisiana.  The Mississippi Valley Division portion of that is $1.46 billion.  If approved by Congress, the proposals would:

1. Upgrade three outfall canals in Orleans Parish at 17th Street, Orleans Avenue and London Avenue by adding permanent pump stations and gated structures at the lakefront.  These facilities will prevent storm surge from entering the existing drainage canals.  They will replace the temporary pumps and gated closures currently being installed by the Corps.  The permanent facilities are expected to take 3-5 years to complete.

2. Storm-proof existing interior drainage pump stations in Jefferson and Orleans Parishes.  Non-federal pumps in other parishes are generally already storm-proofed.  

3. Improve the structural design and performance of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal by installing navigable closures at to-be-determined locations on the Industrial Canal at Seabrook near Lake Pontchartrain and west of the intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.  This work is in lieu of raising and strengthening many miles of IHNC levees and floodwalls.  Under this proposal, the waterways would be protected from storm surge by closing the navigable gates. 

4. Selectively armor portions of the New Orleans levee system at their most critical areas, including structural weak points such as pipeline crossings, areas where floodwalls transition to earthen levees, floodwall bases and the backsides of extremely exposed levees in Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish.

5. Incorporate Plaquemines Parish west bank non-federal levees into the federal levee system.

6. Reverse wetland losses in areas affected by navigation channels, oil and gas channels or other channels and modify the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion structure or its operation. These enhancements will help lessen the early flow of storm water into Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain.  When the main surge arrives, the basins can then hold more floodwater, thus reducing the high water and potential flooding.

These new proposals would allow the Corps of Engineers to further improve existing hurricane protections systems and is in addition to other projects already approved by President Bush and Congress since Hurricane Katrina.

Additional Points:

• Closing the outfall canals will prevent storm surge from entering when the gates are closed while still allowing interior drainage waters to be pumped into Lake Pontchartrain.  Additionally, it will eliminate 14 miles of floodwalls from the hurricane system.

• Storm-proofing pump stations will allow them to function through the fiercest storms by hardening them, raising critical equipment and providing emergency power and fuel systems.

• Armoring levees means strengthening them – applying materials to make levees resistant to wave-wash and scour that can occur during overtopping.

• Placing navigable gated structures on the Industrial Canal at Seabrook and west of the intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet will allow ship traffic to move freely when open, but would protect the IHNC from major storm events when closed.

• The incorporation of non-Federal levees will allow the Corps to improve them to the same standard heights and design as other area Federal Hurricane Protection levees in Plaquemines Parish and offer increased protection for both residents and state Highway 23, a major hurricane evacuation route.

Restoring coastal ecosystems, such as barrier islands and marshlands increases the natural lines of defense against hurricane-induced storm surge.

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