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Questions swirl over use of drainage funds on levees

06/13/2010

By Bret H. McCormick • June 13, 2010
The Town Talk
 
Opinions vary about the Rapides Parish Police Jury's preliminary decision to spend $16.3 million in federal hurricane relief money to fix decertified levees along the Red River.
 
The Police Jury voted last week in its committee meetings to do so, and will take a final vote Monday.
 
Police Jury President Richard Billings said that if the Red River levees aren't certified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and accredited by the Federal Emergency Management Agency before new flood maps become effective, then all of the drainage projects would be moot.
 
The redrawn flood maps could be issued as soon as November 2011.
 
"We felt like we could do every drainage project in Rapides Parish if we had the money," Billings said. "We did not have the money to do every drainage project in the parish, but we picked and chose the ones that would do the most good for the citizens in Rapides Parish. That's all good, but if the levees breach, what good is it to have those drainage projects done?"
 
The city of Alexandria was in line to receive slightly more than half of the $16.3 million for drainage projects within the city limits. One of the larger projects affects Chatlin Lake Canal, which drains south from Alexandria into Avoyelles Parish.
Impact a concern

At-large Alexandria City Councilman Myron K. Lawson spoke against the Police Jury's preliminary decision, saying it would adversely affect drainage in South Alexandria.
 
District C Police Juror Jamie Floyd, who represents a rural area in the northeast part of the parish, opposes using all of the money for the levees.
 
Floyd said flooding is a "major concern" for his constituents, many of whom plan to be at Monday's Police Jury meeting to voice their concerns.
 
Floyd suggested capping the spending on the levee repairs at $10 million, leaving at least $6.3 million for drainage projects in rural portions of the parish.
 
"We can't let this one-time opportunity slip away from us," Floyd said.
 
There is a chance it won't take more than $10 million to fix the levees. Repair estimates range from $4 million to $10 million.
 
Floyd said he thinks the levee certification process could consume all the Ike-Gustav funds, a risk that is too much to take.
 
Billings, meanwhile, said it's too early to know how much the problems along the Red River levees -- from Lake Nantachie in Grant Parish to Moncla in Avoyelles Parish -- and other levee deficiencies in Alexandria will cost to fix.
 
"When we got to searching and looking at the ... problems of the levees, we thought, 'My gosh, we should just go ahead and put the bulk of the money into the levees,'" Billings said.
 
Carl Stevens, a former construction superintendent who lives on Pearl Lake in Avoyelles Parish, where the Chatlin Lake Canal drains, said Rapides Parish is better off using the money to certify the Red River levees than fix the canal.
 
Pearl Lake consists of about 3,300 acres of swampland where Chatlin Lake Canal and Bayou Dulac drain.
 
Stevens said the last time the canal and bayou had a major cleaning was about 35 years ago, but in the area near Pearl Lake, there aren't many flooding issues.
 
"We have had floods, but that was abnormal rainfall from Katrina -- about 12 inches," Stevens said. "That's an act of God. To prevent flooding from that, there's not enough money to build enough canals."
 
Instead, Stevens said, the money would be better served to fix the levees.
 
"If they happen to get a breach in the Red River levees, it would cause more harm than not cleaning out the canal," Stevens said.
Billings said whatever money is left after levee certification -- if any -- would be used for drainage projects.
 
"We didn't want to cut ourselves short, and we went ahead and made these other projects alternate projects," Billings said. "We're just hoping that there's money left. All of these figures is what we think it's going to take and just figures thrown out. When you go from figuring $4 million to $10 million, $6 million in Richard Billings' book is a lot of money."
 
Attempts to reach FEMA and the Corps of Engineers on Friday to discuss the levee repairs and costs were unsuccessful. Phone and e-mail messages left for Shona Gibson, the Louisiana flood map contact with FEMA's Region 6 office in Denton, Texas, were not returned, and an interview request submitted to the Corps of Engineers regional office in Vicksburg, Miss., received no response.
 
Floyd said that if the Police Jury dedicates the money to levee repairs, it will take away the incentive for the region's congressional delegation to find funding for the levee repairs. That includes U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman; and U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, and David Vitter, R-Metairie.
 
"David Vitter, Rodney Alexander and Mary Landrieu ought to be able to find money, but if you come out and say you have this money, they're going to stop looking for it," Floyd said.
 
Alexander said otherwise.
 
"I have been working diligently to preserve the nation's levee systems and defend those individuals whom levees guard," Alexander said in a news release. "Rest assured, I will continue this fight as long as property owners are at risk of dangerous flood waters and costly flood insurance mandates."
Insurance issues

Alexander said progress has been made with FEMA, but property owners should take steps to protect themselves.
FEMA recently announced that homeowners can purchase flood insurance at a "preferred risk" rate, the lowest rate, for two years after the maps go into effect. That is expected to occur between November 2011 and January 2012.
 
"The two years will provide owners extra time to understand their flood risk and to consider this risk in their preparedness planning," said Edward Connor, FEMA's acting federal insurance and mitigation administrator.
 
However, Alexander said, the process is "laden with potentially harmful financial implications."
 
If residents do not purchase flood insurance before the redrawn maps go into effect and have their property "grandfathered in" at lower rates, they will pay standard rates after FEMA's two-year grace period ends.
 
Alexander called the standard rates "extremely high rates."
 
"While it may initially sound like a significant step in alleviating the likely financial pain our residents will face, it does little to correct any of the underlying problems," Alexander said. "This policy simply offers discount coupons on flood insurance that may not be truly necessary to purchase in the first place."
 
Billings said timing is tight. Bids for levee repair work could be let "in the next few months," he said. Still, he said, that may not be soon enough to beat the implementation of redrawn flood maps.
 
"This is what we're hoping: that our legislative delegation in Washington, D.C., is pushing very hard to get this pushed back to where we've got a longer length of time to get our projects completed," Billings said. "We're hoping if we get started on these projects that's going to help us tremendously in that effort."
Many affected

FEMA's remapping affects most of the country. Rapides Parish was one of the first areas to sign a provisional agreement with FEMA for levee accreditation, which has since expired.
 
"Louisiana residents are not the only ones who will be affected by FEMA's remapping process," Alexander said. "For this reason, support and focus is needed in the hall of Capitol Hill in addition to the parishes in the Pelican State. I have worked to raise awareness amongst my congressional colleagues, many of whom were unaware how much their own constituents would be affected by FEMA's remapping."
 
Alexander said the 18-member Congressional Levee Caucus, which he co-chairs, is lobbying the Obama administration to declare it a national concern.
 
"Unfortunately, FEMA is intent on pressing forward with their remapping," Alexander said. "I will continue to do everything within my power to slow the remapping process, but as this fight goes on, I strongly urge you to study this important issue and determine what will be best for you and your family."
 
Although there are many unanswered questions, they don't include whether the Police Jury should vote Monday to allocate all of recovery money for the levee repairs.
 
"We're trying our best to get the levees fixed because we felt like it would arbitrarily be the best thing for Rapides Parish to get these levees fixed," Billings said.
 
He also said it makes sense to use federal funds to fix federal infrastructure.
 
"We felt this was just like money coming from heaven, so to speak, money we weren't expecting," Billings said.