Hurricane Protection, Gulf Coast Rebuilding Sectors
Levees
- After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the State of Louisiana declared that rebuilding and strengthening its hurricane protection system was its top priority.
- To date, the federal government has committed more than $7 billion to the Southeast Louisiana levee system. In all instances, OFC worked with the state to discern the appropriate level of funding and then presented these needs to decision makers in the Administration and Congress to get the necessary funds.
- The Administration and OFC's continuing commitment to hurricane protection is strong. The Corps has recently provided new cost estimates for the amount of funding necessary to provide 100-year storm protection for the greater New Orleans area and for important interior drainage projects (SELA) to reduce flooding in a future storm. The President's 2009 budget has requested the full $5.8 billion of additional federal funds needed to meet the President's ambitious commitment to provide 100-year storm protection to the greater New Orleans area by 2011.
- An independent group of 150 scientists – the Inter-Agency Performance Evaluation Taskforce (IPET) -- released maps that assess the flood risk associated with specific locations in the greater New Orleans area. These maps clearly show the safety-enhancing effect of the President's commitment to 100-year storm protection. If another Katrina were to hit tomorrow, following the exact same track, the Corps would not expect New Orleans to have the same catastrophic flooding that occurred during Katrina.
- OFC worked with the Corps of Engineers on an emergency basis immediately after the hurricanes to determine the extent of repairs and funding necessary to protect the greater New Orleans area population, and forwarded this need to the President, who responded by requesting over $3 billion from Congress for repairs in the Third Supplemental (December 2005).
- When additional funding became necessary, OFC again worked with state and local leaders to determine the extent of the need and the President requested almost another $3 billion in the Fourth Supplemental (June 2006).
- As a result, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) completed the repair and restoration of 220 miles of floodwalls and levees by June 1, 2006. The Corps continues to improve the hurricane protection system, and the New Orleans-area now has the best flood protection in its history.
Wetlands Restoration
- Many in Louisiana spoke to the important problem of their eroding wetlands. These wetlands and barrier islands historically served as a buffer against hurricanes coming from the Gulf of Mexico toward the Louisiana shore.
- For decades the State of Louisiana had been fighting to receive a greater share of the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling royalties (OCS royalties).
- To help focus resources on mitigating losses to wetlands and barrier islands, the state amended its Constitution to dedicate the state's share of any revenues realized from off-shore oil and gas royalties to wetlands and coastal restoration, hurricane protection (including levee maintenance which is a 100% state and local cost and responsibility), and other environmental projects.
- At the end of 2006, with President Bush's full support and efforts by OFC, working with the delegations of Louisiana and the other Gulf states, Congress passed legislation to open 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling, with Gulf Coast states – Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama - to receive 37.5% of the royalties generated.
This page was last reviewed/modified on October 21, 2008.
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