Reconstruction in Fits and Starts

Rebuilding levees to category 5 protection is running into some resistance in Congress because they'd like to see what it's going to cost. My guess is that the true cost of upgrading to category 5 protection and maintaining that system will cost somewhat less than the Medicaid prescription drug program, but more than the monthly cost to field the US military overseas. Just a random guess (and the total will be in the tens of billions of dollars).

Louisiana officials claim that they need to get the assurances that the levees will be built to cat 5 standards in order to get people to come back to the state. I think the Louisiana residents will come back when they have assurances that the money is going to actually be spent on the levees and other critical infrastructure and not on pork laden projects that have no effect on whether people are protected from such storms in the future.

Meanwhile, there's also debate ongoing over whether there should be bailouts for those individuals affected by the storms who did not have flood insurance. And there are still questions over the pace of debris removal:

Following a tour of hurricane-damaged areas around New Orleans, much of it by helicopter, members of the Select Committee on Katrina praised a debris-removal program run by Plaquemines Parish officials that they said is moving at a much faster pace than those overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers in the region.

"I'm disappointed to see the progress that we've made (generally) in the cleanup," said Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville.

Private contractors have been doing a better job of removing debris than the Corps up and down the coast, including in the hardest hit areas in Mississippi.

West Bank politicians are fearful of losing power should the levee boards be consolidated. They're going to fight the plan because they fear that the consolidated board would concentrate on New Orleans and other harder affected areas. Go figure.

Reconstruction takes many shapes and forms, and there are small successes at every turn. In Slidell, it means the reopening of a post office.

Louisiana officials are also envious of the efforts underway in Mississippi, where the pace of rebuilding is faster. These officials assert that Mississippi wasn't nearly as badly damaged as Louisiana, but that's debatable. Once again, it's an attempt to deflect attention away from their own deficiencies as politicians and as effective leaders onto those who are getting the job done elsewhere under similar circumstances.

Gulfport is going forward with a reconstruction plan.

City leaders, architects and downtown property owners are creating plans to rebuild Gulfport's hurricane-ravaged downtown, and they have no intentions of letting those plans collect dust on a bookshelf.
About 100 people gathered Thursday and will again today to prioritize projects essential to rebuilding downtown and devise action plans to implement them. Participants are breaking into small groups, each tackling a particular issue.
For example, one of the main goals is to find a way to connect the Small Craft Harbor to downtown. Other objectives being discussed include retail, entertainment and culture, historic preservation and churches, infrastructure, transportation, parking and casino locations.

And those rebuilding should take heed to build to higher standards. LSU released a study that suggested that if buildings were constructed to Cat 3 protection standards, damages would be cut by 68%. Mississippi counties and coastal cities are already in the process of adopting stricter building codes. There's even talk of instituting a stringent statewide building code in Mississippi. That idea certainly has merit, but the question becomes whether the new codes will grandfather existing structures or whether the new codes will require older structures to be retrofitted. The potential costs to retrofit are significant, and building owners and developers will likely fight some of the more expensive retrofitting issues. The added costs to conform to any new building code will depend greatly on how stringent the existing codes were. Based on Florida's experience, the costs may increase anywhere from 1-10%. Mississippi and Louisiana will likely find costs increasing at the higher end of the range because the building codes were lax or nonexistent.

While much of the focus is on New Orleans and other major areas, many areas are still suffering due to the severe damage to the infrastructure. Bridges need to be rebuilt and that takes time. Many communities can't wait so they're making due or planning alternatives. Bids are being solicited for a ferry service to reconnect Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian.

Technorati: flood aid; hurricane katrina; katrina aid; slidell; biloxi; gulfport; pascagoula; nagin; blanco; barbour.