N.O. Sewerage and Water Board Executive Director Marcia St. Martin, Jefferson Parish Councilmen-at-Large Tommy Capella and John Young, and Lisa Ludwig and Joe Rault of Pump to the River (from left) update the Council on progress with lobbying for the best possible option for the Corp's planned improvements to New Orleans' three outfall canals.
New Orleans, LA – Oct. 19, 2009 – At tomorrow’s City Council Meeting, Council Vice President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson will call an order of business and introduce legislation concerning proposed improvements by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to New Orleans’ outfall canals.
Jefferson Parish Council Chairman Tom Capella, Jefferson Parish Council Vice Chairman John Young, New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board Executive Director Marcia St. Martin, and Lisa Ludwig and Joe Rault of Pump to the River will appear at 11 a.m. before the Council to give an update on recent progress with Option 1, 2, and 2a legislation in Congress.
Clarkson will also introduce a resolution that reaffirms the New Orleans City Council’s commitment to seeing the safest option for New Orleans area residents implemented – Option 2 or 2a – and calls on state and federal leaders to continue their efforts on behalf of Orleans and Jefferson Parish residents despite recent setbacks.
“We’ve faced some bumps in the road this summer,” Clarkson said. “But our entire region remains united in our commitment to implement the best outfall canal protection possible. We simply cannot afford another catastrophic man-made disaster.”
The Corps’ position is now familiar: In its plans to improve the London Ave., Orleans Ave., and 17th St. canals, the Corps favors what is known as “Option 1.” This plan would retain existing deficient canal walls; build new pumping stations at the mouth of each canal to handle storm surge from rising water; and rely on Sewerage and Water Board pumping stations at the opposite end of each canal to handle routine drainage. The Corps estimates this plan will cost $800 million.
Local, state, and federal leaders, however, have long argued that the Corps should pursue the more expensive and far safer “Option 2,” which would deepen and repave the canals and build new all-purpose pumps, or “Option 2a,” which includes these improvements and also allows for pumping excess water from the canals to the Mississippi River. The Corps estimates this plan will cost $3.4 billion.
“Even the Corps’ own analysis has found Options 2 and 2a to be safer for our region that Option 1,” Clarkson said. “We cannot allow cost to be the dictator of our safety. After all, these construction costs are minimal compared to that we would incur in the event the canals fail us again.”
Because the Corps has consistently argued that Congress has not authorized it to pursue Option 2 or 2a, Louisiana’s federal delegation worked over the summer to pass legislation that clarified this point. Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter introduced an amendment to the 2010 water and energy appropriations bill that called for the Corps to submit its plans to independent, third party review. The amendment failed in conference committee.
“We’re not giving up,” Clarkson said. “The Corps is mistakenly pursuing a ‘cheaper’ plan that will actually put our area at risk for dramatic costs in life and property – and we cannot let this happen.”
