Fixing The Responder, Ignoring the Cause?

NEW ORLEANS--In a Monday blog post, WashPost's Al Kamen reports that the incoming Obama administration will bring back James Lee Witt, who successfully whipped FEMA into shape under Bill Clinton, to...whip FEMA back into shape. Obama, according to Kamen's sources, also plans to liberate FEMA from the Homeland Security bureaucracy. What's not to like?

Well....FEMA was the poster child for federal incompetence, according to the consensus media narrative of the 2005 New Orleans flooding disaster. And it's undeniable that FEMA's lack of alacrity (and of advance planning) made a horrible situation worse. But the true poster child for federal incompetence, in the eyes, at least, of New Orleanians was and is the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps, tasked by a 1960s Congress to protect New Orleans from severe hurricanes, failed, by its own standards, and according to its own post-mortem. More independent observers, like the UC Berkeley ILIT team, had an even harsher verdict. Yet who's blithely going about fixing that which they screwed up so royally? The Corps. Who's reviewing their work? If anybody, engineers approved and paid by...the Corps.

President-Elect Obama has talked recently of investing in infrastructure. The program to restore the Louisiana coastal wetlands--this region's buffer against hurricane severity, and a resource profoundly damaged by decades of Corps- and oil-company-sponsored canal and pipeline building across delicate marshes--was estimated in 2000 to cost $14 billion. At the time, that figure was regarded as impossibly huge. Flash forward eight years, when hundreds of federal billions are being flung at profligate banks. It would be welcome news if coastal wetlands restoration, currently a major state responsibility, received serious federal help. It would be even more welcome, not only to Louisiana but to every state where the Corps has done its work (and that's every state) if independent peer review of Army Corps designs and plans were given equal priority with reforming FEMA. FEMA, after all, only cleans up the messes after they happen.

Comments

[BelGazou]

The Army Corp. of Engineers, when have they not been a joke? I remember belonging to some environmental groups back in the early '70's and reading accounts of their quite amazing incompetence even then. Overhauling that bunch, now that would be a feat!

[Insightful]

From every report I have read in the past 10 years or so it seems tha tArmy Corp of
Engineers have done enormous damage to our environment by filling in wetlands, creating channels, etc. that all wound up causing disasters as in New Orleans. This total disrespect of the natural environment has brought all this horror about. WHO gives this agency the right to go around rearranging our natural environment leaving the inhabitants of these invaded areas absolutely no say in the matter?. I have seen many natural relatively small area of creek beds and trees chopped down and filled in order to permit some greedy builder to plant houses on top of wetlands. We are paying the price bigtime. I have lived close by these wetlands and seen it accomplished by some small town local politicians. It was heartbreaking to watch the destruction. I saw it happen in both PA and NH. No amount of protest could stop the political schemers. What is wrong with our environmental law?

[HoppinHill]

It's Congress who gives the Corps of Engineers the right to rearrange our environment. And Congress is generally unbridled and arrogant. And rejected 20-79, the McCain-Feingold amendment in 2006 that would require prioritizing of federal water projects by an independent expert peer review panel.

On July 16, 2006, a staffer at Sen James Inhofe's office told me this, "the Senator feels that only the Federal Government should decide what's best for the citizens." Not the experts!

It is this mindset that nearly destroyed New Orleans.

[rybalaw]

harry you and Bienville got it right. but you forgot another factor created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Industrial Canal and the Gulf Mississsippi outlet. Listened to WWL during the katrina aftermath until I was affected by Rita here in East Texas and most of the radio commentary was that the design of the Gulf Mississippi outlet and or its very existence was what caused the flooding of Orleans and St. Bernard parishes after katrina passed

[Harry Shearer - Huffpost Blogger]

The very existence of MR-GO acted, as many critics had long predicted, to funnel storm surge to the heart of New Orleans. MR-GO was primarily responsible for the flooding in the Lower 9th and St. Bernard, but not in the parts of town west of the Industrial Canal.

[CAPTAINSKIPPY]

More than 40 years ago, my father often complained about A.C.E. environmental neglect in their ambitious plans to "improve" natural wetlands and drainage areas. Nothing much has changed since then, except perhaps the size of the projects.

[JAUG]

The Army Corps(e) of Engineers have a list of over 45 levees throughout the U.S. that are in imminent danger of collapse. Bridges, dams, and highways are crumbling with age. The whole dayum country needs a face lift quick or more of what happened in New Orleans and Minneapolis will be seen from coast to coast. What a great way to get Americans, bankers, car makers into jobs, kinda like they did in the 1920's (funny how history seems to repeat itself.)

[super]

Reforming FEMA is a task of undoing the Bush.admin ravages of the last 8 years. Reforming the mission of the US Army Corps of Engineers is a job of undoing the failed "wetlands=wastelands" vision of the last 60 years. A big reason why New Orleans flooded is MRGO: the oil-co.sponsored Mississippi River Gulf Outlet that funneled Katrina's storm surges from the Gulf right into the heart of the city.

[Bienville]

I don't believe this is correct. It is true that "shipping interests" pushed for MRGO, but I don't recall Big Oil being among them.

The harm done by Big Oil to south Louisiana is the damage to the wetlands. Their widespread exploration canals have allowed infiltration of saltwater into freshwater marshes, killing the plants and eroding the soil. As a result, the value of the wetlands as a shield against storm surge is vastly diminished and is shrinking daily.

[mariegachelin]

Do blame FEMA for incompetence and the Army Corps of Engineers for having done less than an adequate job on the levees. However, New Orleans had a local government that must bare the consequences of hurricane Katrina.
Clearly, the local government failed its obligation to prepare for a hurricane of that magnitude and failed to evacuate the vulnerable population of New Orleans.
If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. What happened in New Orleans was the result of the incompetence and negligence of the local government or New Orleans. Former Governor Kathleen Babineau Blanco and Mayor Ray Negan did a horrible job, do point the finger at those two.

[HoppinHill]

Had the levees held, there would have been some inconvenient flooding (wet ankles, soggy carpets) and there would have been no need for an evacuation.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/08/21/8383661/index.htm

What happened in New Orleans was NOT the result of the incompetence and negligence of the local government. What happened was directly due to failure of the levees.

The citizens didn't evacuate because no one ever predicted that levees could catastrophically fail.

[Bienville]

There might have been "some inconvenient flooding," but Gustav demonstrated that a certain amount of overtopping is well within the pumping capacity of the City.

[garth1066]

I think the levees failed because of mariegachelin or those like him who would blame anyone but the government they voted for. No amount of local corruption, even the staggering amount in NOLA, can cause a levee to fail. What allows infrastructure to fail is the preference people give to reaffirming their faith instead of trusting science and reason. It doesn't matter if it is ideology or religion, it clouds peoples understanding of reality. Keep on plugging, Harry!

[Bienville]

The levees of New Orleans were required by law to protect the City from a storm of the magnitude of Katrina. There is nothing Blanco or Nagin could do to improve the levees. Had the levees performed as mandated by Congress, there would be no story about Katrina flooding New Orleans, nor would there be a discussion of evacuation of New Orleans.

But, since you brought up the evacuation, you evidently dont' know that about 1.3 million persons evacuated from Southeast Louisiana in about 40 hours. That's about 90% of the population. It's pretty hard to do much better than that.

[chaos4700]

While those two shouldn't be off the hook, it's rather important to point out that Governor Blanco contacted the federal government numerous times to expedite federal support for the crisis before it happened. The Bush Administration left LA out to dry -- which isn't surprising, since she was a Democratic governor.

The result? An electoral backlash that brought in Jindal -- a Republican -- to replace her. As far as the Administration is concerned, that was "Mission Accomplished" I'm guessing.

[nastywolf]

Billions of New Orleans reconstruction dollars have been diverted to shareholders of non-NewO businesses and other well-connected political insiders across the country yet the people that money was intended to help are still waiting.

Little did I realize the the Post-Katrina smoke & mirrors was just practice for the biggest re-distribution of debt in history, in the form of the many trillions of dollars of bailouts being prepared for those same insiders.

When all the dust settles, we'll find that after all these trillions not a single home will have been saved from ruin. Instead we'll have given birth to a fantastic number of new billionaires, pointing out how great to live in the Land of Opportunity.

God help us all.

[CVN65]

Odd how all the money sent to NO over the years to fix the levees never seemed to find its way to the problem. Let's blame the real criminals-the free-spending criminals/politicians who continually diverted the funds to pet projects AND the enviro-nutjobs that did everything possible to prevent any meaningful corrections. Let's also remember how the city and state officials did nothing to help their own people (School Bus Nagin and "Gov" Blanco) except blame Bush and FEMA. Let's also recount how many citizens didn't lift a finger to help themselves and just waited for someone else to risk their lives to come bail them out. Far fewer problems along the Gulf Coast because people were expected to help themselves and did so. Can we also recall how rescue workers spent 2-3 days learning about sexual harrassment and other nonsense to be "qualified" to help? Did FEMA do a great job? Not really, but let's spread the blame around to everyone that deserves it, not just the republicans.

[HoppinHill]

You are perpetuating an unfounded myth. Only the federal US Army Corps of Engineers controls the funds for the levees and it has been that way, by federal mandate, since 1965.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_Control_Act_of_1965

[Harry Shearer - Huffpost Blogger]

Let's please not repeat blatant lies unless we can cite factual backup for them. No money was sent down to NO for levees that was not under the supervision and control of the Army Corps, because that's the law. Also, when you compare the Gulf Coast to New Orleans, you're comparing a hurricane event which was widely predicted (the landfall of Katrina) with a flood event following in the wake of the storm which was not (people felt they had "dodged the bullet" of the storm only to find an eighteen-foot wall of water coming at them.

[DIAGUY]

Thank you !!! For recognizing the truth and stating reality. There are too many people that rely on government for almost every aspect of their lives. The BEST the government is capable of is mediocrity, so people that rely on them too heaviy are bound to be disappointed in their efforts (or lack thereof). I could not imagine having to depend on a bunch of self-serving 'civil servants' for anything more than defense and pot hole repair. No matter which party is in office no government agency will do better than a 'D' average. If you want your life to improve significantly people are going have to learn that it will only happen because the person steps up to the plate and makes it happen themselves.

[Harry Shearer - Huffpost Blogger]

Well, when you and your neighbors get together that volunteer air traffic control center, remind me to stop flying.

[RepugsOut08]

You know, all that Republican "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" crap is ringing pretty hollow these days with millionaires and billionaires begging the "mediocre" government for a handout.
I'm with Harry on this. When I think of all the times over the years we've been told there's no money for healthcare, or, in New Orlean's case, money for levees, I want to scream as I watch the robber barons in line at the treasury "soup kitchen."
Step up to the plate indead!

[babbs0128]

here's another FEMA snafu. We just bought a house in Huntington Beach, CA. The day before we were to close escrow. We were forced to get another appraisal on the house because Orange County was declared a disaster area. One hundred dollars wasted because they are too lazy to do the correct job in the first place. FEMA going to lazy way out didn't distinquish whch zip codes were affected by the fires. Huntington Beach is at least 15 miles away from any of the burn areas. Please President elect Obama fix the mess that is left by the current administration. I know this is small potatoes to the other dumb things FEMA did. Just adding to the list.

[CVN65]

Babbs-is this the type of organization that is proposed to run healthcare? Do you trust govt bureaucrats to decide who gets what type of cardiac treatment after a heart attack? I am not trying to change the subject but govt entities are cumbersome, slow to react and change and always, always, always act first to preserve their own well-being. Perhaps FEMA isn't lazy but is wary of being sued for not being inclusive enough in their zip codes. I think it stinks, too; government has become far too involved in the real estate process and needs to get out of our lives.

[JimBozo]

CVN65, you are obviously forgetting that the Bush administration went out of its way to choose heads of agencies like FEMA on the basis of ideology and personal connections, not capability. How do you think that incompetent dunce "Brownie" got the job? Picking incompetents for jobs like that is a major facet of the stated Neo-Con agenda; the idea being that, if government agencies continually fail the citizenry, the citizens will expect nothing from the government.

It should be obvious to anyone that the Obama administration is determined to reverse this pattern. In which case, I would trust Obama bureaucrats to decide who gets what type of cardiac treatment, as they will be chosen on the basis of competence at their jobs.

[radicalcentrist44]

Harry is correct. Our fellow citizens in the ACOE all got together and decided to build levees that would fail.

[CVN65]

Sarcasm?

[Harry Shearer - Huffpost Blogger]

Check the decisions they did make. For example, the Corps chose to ignore updated elevation maps issued by the Coast and Geodetic Survey in the 1980s, because those maps would have mandated higher levees. The Corps chose not to anchor floodwalls down to a level where solid ground was located, opting instead to go down only 17 feet, where the soil was still swampy. There are many similar examples elucidated in the reports I cited.

[Bienville]

I doubt the Corps "decided to build levees that would fail." Many of those in the Corps, from the decision-makers down, live behind the levees they built. They made many foolish decisions, as ILIT and Mr. Shearer cite, but deliberately building flawed levees is probably not among them.

[kingmiller]

Listen, we all voted for our man, Obama. So let's give him a little love right now, when most a brother needsit, and see how this thing plays out, Katrina ain't gonna be #1 on the list when the country is in turmoil. But it should be in the top 20 no doubt. Let's all just wait and see what happens.

[FOXYLADY]

TRUE, TRUE............IF THE JOB HAD BEEN DONE RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE, THERE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SO MUCH DAMAGE..........BUT THEN.............PERHAPS HOMES SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BUILT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. WHY DO WE ALL HAVE TO PAY, IN ONE WA;Y OR THE OTHER, FOR SOME PEOPLES UNNECESSARY CARELESS BUILDING AND SELFISHNESS???

[BigEZ114]

I find your logic GREATLY flawed, you say ".BUT THEN.............PERHAPS HOMES SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BUILT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. WHY DO WE ALL HAVE TO PAY, IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, FOR SOME PEOPLES UNNECESSARY CARELESS BUILDING AND SELFISHNESS???". If we followed your advice we would also have to prevent others in hurricane prone areas from rebuilding. Let's just have the Federal Government do a buy out of New Orleans as well as the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast and the whole state of Florida. What about the Texas coast which suffered greatly from IKE? Oh, don't forget about all of those selfish bastards in California building their million dollar mansions in the path of wildfires. Shouldn't they be prevented from rebuilding? Earthquakes in San Francisco, flooding along the Mississippi River in the Mid-West and tornadoes in Kansas and Oklahoma. No we shouldn't let anyone rebuild. We should let the government buy it all back and return it all to the Native Americans. That way it will all become someone else's problem!

[timinhi]

She didn't say they shouldn't be allowed to build there, she said maybe they shouldn't have built there, and if they chose to, then maybe the rest of us shouldn't have to shoulder the financial burden for their ill-advised decision. Perhaps your sarcastic suggestions are good ones. The rich idiots who want to get back to nature and so build their palatial homes in woodsy tinderbox forests and then are surprised when the annual wildfires come perhaps SHOULDN'T expect a taxpayer-funded bailout. I'm not personally arguing one way or the other, but it's amusing how I regularly see under Harry's posts numerous defenses of the not so good idea a few hundred years ago to build cities below sea level in coastal areas. Now with global climate change, the chickens have come home to roost in the Netherlands and New Orleans. It's not the current residents' fault, but it is what it is. And earthquakes aren't nearly as prevalent or devastating in California as these "defenses" seem to think--it's apples and oranges. I'd take the minor risk of earthquakes over hurricanes and tornados, any day.

[eddiemyboy1]

I live in Illinois about 50mi. from the Mississippi river and there has been a law/ruling in place that people who have been flooded out only get ONE disaster assistance loan.After that if they are flooded and don't have their own insurance.They are out of whatever losses that they incur.Let's face it.If you build in a FLOOD PLAIN then you will get flooded at some time.Life is funny like that.Tornadoes don't qualify,in my opinion because they are so random.Yes they do occur in certain corridors of the country,but can't be predicted. Maybe the problem is that there are WAY too many people in the world and we have to build in places that should not be built upon.Look at Bangledesh.The whole country is only a few feet above sea level.

[MJinCanada]

The US Army Core of Engineers stood up to take responsibility, but the real blame lies with the decades of underfunding. CSE and Azureblue are absolutely right -- the alternate news pointed out at the time that the ACOE had been begging the Bush regime for more funds to upgrade and repair the levees and instead their budget was cut to pay for the Iraq quagmire.

[Bienville]

The damage was done in the decades prior to the Iraq debacle. Many occupants of the White House and Congress share the blame.

[BioLiberty]

FEMA, was not prepared for Katrina? Of course they were prepared. The question is for what were they preparing for? They where prepared to make sure nothing happened quickly or effectively. They could not even deliver ice before it melted. Army Corps was prepared, they submitted plans years before Hurricane Katrina to fix the problems everyone including US. Berkley knew about. The problem is, was, and always will be; the priorities of the people are not the top priorities of our federal government. And the Army Corps takes its orders from Washington. And since they are part of the Army their is no real accountability to the people. I hope that our new president will take a long look at the Corp and FEMA's missions and their totalitarian ways of operating.