Bush Does Something Good

I know, you didn't expect to see it here, but Bush is seeking $1.46B for flood protection here--specifically, gates to keep storm surges from rolling up the Industrial Canal. If we'd had them before, many people would still be alive and thousands of homes would be intact. Oh, well. Let's hope that 1) it's enough money and will be properly spent, and 2) Congress approves it. From the Times Picayune (our local news god):

The construction of sector gates to keep storm surges out of the Industrial Canal, and permanent backflow protection to stop inland flooding through pump stations in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, are among $1.46 billion in hurricane protection improvements the Bush administration is asking Congress to authorize and finance.

This is the first time since Katrina slammed the area that President Bush and the Army Corps of Engineers have formally proposed building gates to beef up protection for the New Orleans area from the ravages of another hurricane.

The proposal calls for building one set of gates where the Industrial Canal flows into Lake Pontchartrain and a second set somewhere west of the juncture of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Other enhancements to the region's battered hurricane protection system include construction of permanent pump stations at the lake for three New Orleans outfall canals, armoring to protect especially vulnerable sections of levee from scouring, construction of 23 miles of new levee in Plaquemines Parish, restoration of coastal wetlands and ecosystems especially hard-hit by Katrina, and "storm-proofing" individual pump stations.

Keep your fingers crossed that this actually happens and we don't get screwed.