    [Senate Hearing 114-39]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 114-39

                      PROVIDING NECESSARY FLOOD PROTECTION
                         TO PROTECT COASTAL COMMUNITIES

    =======================================================================

                                 FIELD HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                        SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               AND INFRASTRUCTURE

                                     of the

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                         MAY 15, 2015--NEW ORLEANS, LA

                                   __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works

     [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

           Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys

                                   __________

                           U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    94-996 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2015
    _______________________________________________________________________________________
    For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office,
    http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center,
    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Phone 202-512-1800, or 866-512-1800 (toll-free).
    E-mail, gpo@custhelp.com.

                   COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                        ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
                                 FIRST SESSION

                      JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma, Chairman
    DAVID VITTER, Louisiana              BARBARA BOXER, California
    JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
    SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
    MIKE CRAPO, Idaho                    BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
    JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas               SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
    JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama               JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
    ROGER WICKER, Mississippi            KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
    DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
    MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota            EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
    DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska

                     Ryan Jackson, Majority Staff Director
                   Bettina Poirier, Democratic Staff Director
                                  ----------

               Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure

                       DAVID VITTER, Louisiana, Chairman
    JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               BARBARA BOXER, California
    SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
    MIKE CRAPO, Idaho                    BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
    JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas               BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
    JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama               SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
    ROGER WICKER, Mississippi            JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
    DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
    JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma (ex
        officio)
                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                  MAY 15, 2015
                                WITNESS PANEL 1

    Hansen, Colonel Richard, Commander, New Orleans District, U.S.
      Army Corps of Engineers........................................     1
        Prepared statement...........................................     5

                                WITNESS PANEL 2

    Monzon, John R., P.E., M. ASCE, Regional Director, Southeast
      Louisiana Flood Protection Authority--West.....................    15
        Prepared statement...........................................    18

    Murphy, Todd P., President, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce........    21

    Turner, Robert A., P.E., CFM, Regional Director, Southeast
      Louisiana Flood Protection Authority--East.....................    22
        Prepared statement...........................................    25

    Laska, Shirley, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, University of New
      Orleans........................................................    40
        Prepared statement...........................................    43

                              ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

    Statement of Dr. Ariana Sutton-Grier, University of Maryland.....    52

      PROVIDING NECESSARY FLOOD PROTECTION TO PROTECT COASTAL COMMUNITIES

                                  ----------

                              FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015

                                   U.S. Senate,
             Committee on Environment and Public Works,
             Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
                                                       New Orleans, LA.
        Senator Vitter. At this point, we're going to move to our
    witnesses, to sort of the Field Hearing portion of the program,
    so let me invite Colonel Hansen to come up. He is our first
    panel, sort of the Federal panel, and then after a discussion
    with Colonel Hansen, we will have another panel of witnesses.
        Colonel Richard Hansen is the District Commander and
    District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers here in
    the New Orleans District. He became that 62d District Commander
    on May 23rd, 2013, and on assuming command, he became
    responsible for one of the largest civil works programs in the
    country at over $300 million annually.
        Colonel Hansen is in charge of executing and maintaining
    South Louisiana's Comprehensive and Integrative Flood Control
    Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk
    Reduction Projects, which we were talking about earlier.
        Colonel, welcome, and thanks for your work and thanks for
    your testimony today.

      STATEMENT OF COLONEL RICHARD HANSEN, COMMANDER, NEW ORLEANS
                 DISTRICT, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

        Colonel Hansen. Thank you, Chairman Vitter, and the members
    of the subcommittee. Again, I am Colonel Richard Hansen,
    Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans
    District.
        Thank you for this opportunity to provide a status on the
    construction and maintenance of systems to reduce the risk
    associated with extreme coastal weather events.
        I'd like to provide you with an update on the progress and
    status of our efforts during the last 10 years, the remaining
    work, and the coordinated efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of
    Engineers and its Federal, State and local partners, to ensure
    that we are prepared and ready to respond during the 2015
    hurricane season. I will begin with a discussion of the
    response following Hurricane Katrina.
        Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the Corps assessed
    the damages from the storm, and working closely with State and
    other Federal agencies, took a comprehensive look at the
    organization to determine how best to improve our approaches to
    storm risk reduction. We incorporated the lessons learned from
    that assessment into our design criteria, construction
    techniques, as well as our preparedness and response
    procedures.
        The results included addressing risk reduction with more
    robust designs, use of cutting edge science and technology,
    incorporation of better materials, gaining insight from local,
    national and international experts in building a robust
    emergency preparedness and response network.
        Additionally, the passage of supplemental appropriations
    totaling over $14 billion represented full up-front funding for
    protective measures in Southeastern Louisiana. This allowed the
    Corps to efficiently design and construct this multifaceted
    system in one of the Nation's most complex environments.
        The Corps has strengthened or improved nearly 133 miles of
    levees, floodwalls, gated structures and pump stations to form
    a perimeter system.
        Construction of features, such as the Inner Harbor
    Navigation Canal Surge Barrier in Lake Borgne, the Seabrook
    Floodgate Complex, closures at the mouths of the three outfall
    canals, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure
    Complex, have pushed the line of defense outside the city and
    removed almost 70 miles of interior levees and floodwalls from
    exposure to storm surge.
        We have provided the necessary data to the Federal
    Emergency Management Agency and they are currently revising
    their Flood Insurance Rate maps to reflect the system as being
    accredited to defend against the 100-year storm surge event, or
    a storm that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given
    year.
        It is with confidence that I appear before you today and
    state that the level of storm damage risk reduction in the New
    Orleans metropolitan area has never been greater.
        Each day this risk is even further reduced as we push to
    complete the final remaining features of the system. I'd like
    to highlight a couple of the endeavors currently under way,
    specifically, the construction of the Permanent Canal Closures
    and Pumps and the current effort to improve system resiliency
    through levee armoring.
        In June 2013, we initiated construction of the Permanent
    Canal Closures and Pumps, the system's final major structural
    complex. Since that time, we have made substantial progress. As
    of this month, the design is nearly 94 percent complete, and
    construction and procurement are 57 percent complete.
        We are on schedule to be complete at 17th Street, Orleans
    Avenue and London Avenue during the 2017 hurricane season. Once
    complete, the three new structures will be a sustainable
    replacement for the interim closure structures that currently
    provide the 100-year level of risk reduction.
        These new stations combined will have a total pumping
    capacity of nearly 182,000 gallons per second. Additionally,
    adaptability has been incorporated into the design for the
    structures, should other options be authorized and funded for
    construction in the future.
        Until these permanent features are complete, the Corps is
    committed to ensuring that the interim closure structures will
    perform as designed through a comprehensive operations and
    maintenance program.
        I'd also like to highlight our armoring program work. One
    of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina is the need for
    greater resiliency in the system. In terms of elevation, the
    system is designed to defend against surge levels associated
    with a 100-year level storm. We also understand that it is
    necessary to build a level of resiliency so that the system
    will withstand the impacts of overtopping from an even more
    intense storm.
        To date, we have awarded five task orders for the placement
    of high performance turf reinforcement matting on earthen
    levees in the system.
        Since 2006, the Corps has continued to incorporate lessons
    learned from Hurricane Katrina and improve how we do business,
    not only in design and construction of the HSDRRS, but also in
    operational and contingency planning.
        In partnership with Federal, State and local leaders, we
    conduct annual structural assessments of the system. In
    conjunction with each hurricane season, the Corps and its
    partners operationally test all major structures and conduct
    joint hurricane exercises here in New Orleans, as well as at
    our Division Headquarters in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
        The purpose of the exercises is to test the well-planned
    command and control procedures, our technical steps for
    responding to a storm event, the procedures and triggers for
    closing and reopening major structures, as well as the
    partnership and synchronized efforts among Federal, State and
    local agencies.
        Our partners in these extensive planning efforts are the
    U.S. Coast Guard, the Coastal Protection and Restoration
    Authority, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, the
    Jefferson Parish Drainage Department, the Governor's Office of
    Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Southeast
    Louisiana Flood Protection Authorities, and their supporting
    districts, and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and
    Development.
        The first of these field tests for this hurricane season
    was successfully conducted by the Southeast Louisiana Flood
    Protection Authority--West on April 30, 2015.
        As I meet with stakeholders, partners, media and the
    public, I am often asked about my greatest concern and
    vulnerability in the system. My greatest concern and what could
    also be considered a vulnerability is the risk of complacency
    of residents because this monumental system is now in place.
        No matter how high or how big we build, no system can fully
    eliminate risk. And it's because of this residual risk that we
    continue to communicate with the general public in an open and
    transparent manner.
        Each year, the Corps and all of our regional partners come
    together for an event at the start of hurricane season to
    collectively emphasize shared responsibilities at all levels.
        And it's important that everyone has an emergency
    evacuation plan in place. Listen to your local officials and
    evacuate if an order is called. This event, this press
    conference, will be scheduled for May 27, 2015.
        Again, we're fully confident that the Hurricane and Storm
    Damage Risk Reduction System will perform as designed just as
    it did during Hurricane Isaac.
        Today, the system is in great shape and our non-Federal
    partners are doing a tremendous job with their operations and
    maintenance programs to keep the system prepared for response
    to a tropical weather event.
        So, in closing, we are meeting the Nation's commitment to
    the citizens of Southeast Louisiana. We accomplish this by
    sharing responsibility and working collaboratively, relying
    heavily on our non-Federal partners, and on extensive
    collaboration with the general public.
        I must emphasize that the Corps absolutely could not have
    done this work on its own. It was a team effort among Federal,
    State and local government, levee authorities, levee boards,
    academia, industry, non-government organizations, peer
    reviewers and other stakeholders.
        Any additional work that is needed to reduce risk in
    coastal Louisiana should consider all methods of risk
    reduction: land use zoning, building codes, flood insurance,
    evacuation plans, hazard mitigation plans, wise use of flood
    plains, structural, and the appropriate combination of other
    non-structural measures.
        The Corps is working on numerous civil works projects to
    support navigation, ecosystem restoration, and flood risk
    management in coastal Louisiana.
        Recently, we executed a cost share agreement with the
    Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to
    evaluate the feasibility of deepening the Mississippi River
    from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico, as well as an agreement
    with the Port of Lake Charles to implement the Dredge Material
    Management Plan, which will provide additional placement
    capacity to allow the continued maintenance dredging of the
    Calcasieu Ship Channel.
        For coastal restoration, we have partnered with Plaquemines
    Parish to begin construction of the first Louisiana Coastal
    Area Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Project, which will
    create and restore marshlands in West Bay, with material
    dredged, as part of our Mississippi River Maintenance Program,
    and it will also provide a natural buffer against future
    coastal storms.
        Finally, we are also working on additional flood risk
    management efforts, such as the Comite River Diversion Project
    in the Baton Rouge area and the Southwest Coastal Louisiana
    Integrated Flood Risk Reduction and Coastal Restoration Study.
        Addressing the needs of this important region, especially
    in the area of managing flood risk, will require the shared
    efforts of our local, State and Federal partners. The men and
    women of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans
    District, are residents of South Louisiana. Their friends and
    families live here; they maintain active roles in their
    communities. For them, working with our partners to ensure a
    promising future in coastal Louisiana is not just a
    professional responsibility; it is a personal commitment.
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for allowing me to testify before
    you this morning. I will be happy to answer any questions you
    may have. Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Colonel Hansen follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Vitter. Thank you, Colonel. Thanks for your work
    and that of all of your colleagues in the Corps. Thanks for all
    of your ongoing leadership and work, and thanks for being here
    today.
        You mentioned that you think the greatest vulnerability,
    danger of our new system is complacency. After that, in terms
    of if you look at the physical post-Katrina system, what would
    you say are the three top vulnerabilities or gaps of any kind
    and what is the Corps doing to address those?
        Colonel Hansen. Well, Senator, first, I will say that the
    Corps greatly values your leadership in the development and
    passage of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of
    2014. That does represent significant progress in advancing
    many water resources projects around the country, including
    here in the Greater New Orleans area.
        Correct, I did mention complacency among citizens, that we
    don't want to develop a feeling or a belief that you can stay
    in the city for any Category 1 or any Category 2 hurricane; you
    don't have to evacuate until they reach a Category 3. That
    would be an incorrect way of thinking. Any hurricane could be
    dangerous regardless of its category.
        For example, Hurricane Isaac was a Category 1 storm, but
    very wide and very slow moving. It pushed a lot of surge in
    front of it. There's a lot more factors to wind speed than
    category.
        But, Senator, to talk about other vulnerabilities, as you
    mentioned in the slide you showed, in your presentation, we are
    presently armoring many miles of the earthen levees around the
    system.
        Of that 133-mile perimeter, approximately 80 miles are
    earthen levees, and one of the lessons learned from Katrina is
    that levees need to be resilient to potential overtopping. So
    we are going back, now that those levees have been constructed,
    and we are beginning to place high performance turf matting and
    then grass over the top of those levees.
        And our tests have shown that--we tested cross-sections of
    grass with that matting, at 40 times what we had said is the
    initial limit for overtopping, and we found no failure and no
    sign of erosion in levees that were protected with that
    armoring mat. So armoring makes levees much more resilient to
    an even larger storm, a 300-year storm, a 500-year storm.
        So delaying that armor, if we do not move forward with that
    armoring, it does represent somewhat of a vulnerability. The
    system is capable of performing to a 100-year level storm, but
    if there were an even larger storm and the system was not
    armored, the levees could be potentially subject to damage from
    erosion from significant overtopping.
        Senator, it's difficult to categorize or kind of rank other
    vulnerabilities, but obviously maintaining the system long-term
    requires a system-wide approach and really sharing of resources
    throughout the system.
        You know, if levee lifts in one area need to be performed
    before another area--right now levee districts are limited in
    their ability to share resources and share funds, and that is
    going to, in a degree, is going to limit the system-wide
    approach to maintenance in the future, so I would consider that
    somewhat of a vulnerability.
        You know, beyond that, I know that, you know, you're going
    to want to talk about the West Closure Complex and the surge
    barrier. Some of these large structures are very big. They are
    expensive to operate and maintain, and it takes resources on
    behalf of, you know, the non-Federal sponsor, the local levee
    districts and the Federal Government. And so, you know, the
    question is whether those resources will continue to be
    adequate in the future to maintain those structures, and I'll
    say that we have to continue to operate as a team and be
    committed to approaching that, you know, with the best plan
    possible.
        Senator Vitter. Great. Well, that leads to our discussion
    of that O&M issue, and I appreciate your kind words about the
    WRRDA 2014 bill that I helped draft and pass, but you can tell
    your superiors that rather than kind words, what I really want
    is simply the Corps to follow the law in regard to that. And
    we've had this meeting and discussion many times, but the Corps
    isn't.
        I mean, WRRDA 2014 has crystal clear language that the
    Corps has a responsibility to perform operation and maintenance
    on the IHNC Surge and Barge Sector Gates, on the West Closure
    Complex and on the Harvey Canal Sector Gates, and that the cost
    share is 65 Federal and 35 local.
        I have a few questions about this, but let me start with
    this. Is there anything in that WRRDA language that you think
    is unclear or ambiguous?
        Colonel Hansen. Well, Senator, the WRRDA 2014 legislation
    is clear in assigning responsibility to the Secretary of the
    Army for operating and maintaining the structures that you
    named, and that is the correct list from our analysis, at 65
    percent Federal and 35 percent non-Federal expense.
        Senator Vitter. OK. So the obvious next question is why
    isn't--we're less than 2 weeks away from the start of hurricane
    season. So why isn't the Corps doing that?
        Colonel Hansen. Senator, the Corps has not ignored the
    authorization and plans to comply with the statute should
    operations and maintenance funding be provided. You know,
    specific appropriated funds were not provided for this purpose,
    but we've had this discussion as--and, you know, Congress did
    provide the Corps with an additional $1 billion in
    discretionary operations and maintenance funding for 2015.
        And, Senator, again, the Corps of Engineers and all the
    non-Federal sponsors and stakeholders that operate projects
    across the country are very grateful for that additional
    funding. It helps the Corps address critical backlog
    maintenance needs across the country, including here in
    Louisiana.
        But this national backlog and deferred maintenance of
    structures and facilities and navigation channels across the
    country is $140 billion, so even with the additional $1 billion
    in discretionary funding--and, again, it's very useful and very
    welcomed--there are very hard choices to make and many, many
    critical needs still remain unfunded. And, regrettably, with
    demands exceeding the limited resources, no funds were
    allocated for the Federal share of the O&M for the HSDRRS fuel
    tax waterway structures.
        Regarding a path forward, if discretionary O&M funding is
    provided to the Corps in Fiscal Year 2016, I cannot commit the
    Corps to a particular decision, but the critical nature of
    these structures is well understood and it will receive very
    careful consideration.
        Senator Vitter. So basically your answer is, we're not
    doing it, even though it's clearly our responsibility, because
    we don't have the money to do it?
        Colonel Hansen. Senator, as you know, the two steps that
    are required are the authorization and the funding, and, again,
    within that discretionary funding that was provided, you know,
    with the immense backlog of maintenance in structures, this was
    one of the needs that was not able to be funded.
        Senator Vitter. So you know how the process works. The
    Corps, through the administration, submits a proposed budget to
    Congress. Did the Corps ask for that money?
        Colonel Hansen. Senator, I am not, you know, fully aware of
    every step in the budget process. I know it was actively
    considered in the fiscal year '15 work plan allocation of that
    O&M funding, but I can't offer, you know, whether or not it was
    in the 2015 budget. The implementation guidance of that
    particular section of WRRDA did arrive late enough in the 2016
    President's budget development process and it was not included.
        Senator Vitter. So, again, I'm trying to cut through to the
    core, the responsibility is crystal clear that it's at the
    Corps. The Corps has not even asked for the money, and to
    piggyback on your comments about the billion dollars, the Corps
    was given an extra billion dollars for various O&M needs. And I
    know you have way more O&M needs than that. But you were given
    a billion dollars, with no direction, and the Corps chose not
    to use a penny of it for this mandated responsibility, is that
    correct?
        Colonel Hansen. That is accurate, Senator.
        Senator Vitter. OK. Well, I just think that's inexcusable,
    and I know it's a decision by your superiors, and I know that
    the district actively asked for the money, but the
    responsibility is crystal clear, and for the Corps not to meet
    the responsibility, not to even ask for the money to meet the
    responsibility, and to be given a billion dollars which could
    be used for the responsibility, and not to use a penny, I
    think, is ridiculous, quite frankly.
        So, as you know, we're not going to drop this issue, and I
    can tell you, if I have anything to do with it, as the next
    Governor, my direction, in January, is going to be very simple
    to the local authorities. It's going to be to drop off the keys
    to these three structures at the Corps office, literally, drop
    off the keys. We will send you a monthly check for our 35
    percent and it's going to be on you. So y'all have between now
    and January to figure it out, but that's what's going to
    happen.
        Let me move to levee lifts, which is another really
    important issue. Before Katrina, in the construction of our
    protection system, future levee lifts to bring the system back
    up to required height, after subsidence, was part of the
    design, was part of the authorization.
        That was not built into the design and authorization of
    this new system, so that now, as subsidence happens, and we
    need to periodically do levee lifts--and that's normal; I mean,
    that's part of any levee system, as you know--the Corps is
    saying, ``Oh, not on us. It has to be a 100 percent State and
    local burden.'' That was never the case before. It's always
    been built into the system. It's always been the same cost
    share, which is 65 percent Federal, 35 percent State. So why
    did that change with this new system?
        Colonel Hansen. Senator, again, a very important issue, and
    Congress directed the Corps of Engineers to build a
    comprehensive risk reduction system for the Greater New Orleans
    Area that would provide a 100-year level risk reduction and
    could be accredited by FEMA, under the National Flood Insurance
    Program, and the Corps accomplished that and completed initial
    attainment by September 2011, and then in February 2014, the
    system was formally accredited by FEMA, and FEMA is in the
    process of updating the Digital Flood Insurance Rate maps that
    are applicable to the National Flood Insurance Program.
        And, Senator, you are correct, the authorizing legislation
    for that system and for that project was silent on future levee
    lifts.
        And then, Senator, again, you know, with your leadership
    with the Water Resources Reform and Development Act passage,
    Section 3017 of that Act does provide additional guidance on
    future levee lifts for the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk
    Reduction System. It does require that the Secretary of the
    Army determine that future levee lift work, to address all the
    steps that caused the levee to settle, consolidation,
    settlement and subsidence, that if future levee lift work is
    technically feasible, environmentally acceptable and
    economically justified.
        And as you know, Senator, that requires a decision
    document. In this case, it would be a General Re-Evaluation
    Report, and that would be conducted with investigation funds,
    under a cost-sharing agreement.
        Senator Vitter. OK. Basically, to summarize for folks here,
    that means we have to go through all of this rigmarole study
    that's going to be long and drawn out and may not even get to a
    ``yes,'' to do regular levee lifts that, prior to Katrina, were
    always built into the system.
        And so what we have going on is normal subsidence that is
    bringing the system below the design level, below the 100-year
    level, with no appropriate plan involving the Corps to remedy
    that, on a regular basis, and, again, this is really
    unacceptable.
        To date, isn't it true that the Corps has performed some
    lifts on levees within the system, like in St. Bernard Parish?
        Colonel Hansen. Senator, in constructing a levee, you know
    that there's a lot more to a levee reach than just the earthen
    levee itself. Oftentimes, there are some loose gates, you know,
    concrete slope paving in sections of floodwall, and so in the--
    and then we establish a good quality turf or a strong turf on
    the levee before we turn it over to the non-Federal sponsor.
        And you're right, Senator, the conditions that cause levees
    to settle are very dynamic here in south Louisiana. There have
    been cases where, as we go through the several-year
    construction process of a large levee and get to the point of
    establishing turf and we go out and do our surveys, we find
    that it has settled small amounts below the initial design
    elevation.
        And so in those cases, Senator, before--we have always made
    sure that before we turn a levee over to the non-Federal
    sponsor, to the State and the levee district, that it is above
    the design grade.
        So there have been cases where we went out, we have gone
    back out and done limited lifts. In 2012, the Corps actually
    did lifts on eight different reaches before turning them over
    to the non-Federal sponsor. Once that turnover process is
    complete, then it falls into the category, Senator, as we're
    discussing now.
        Senator Vitter. OK. Well, again, I just want to highlight
    the concern. Over time we have this subsidence, and as it
    stands now, the Corps is walking away from any responsibility
    to help us keep the system at the design level. That was never
    the case before, never, ever. It was always built into the
    design and authorization that the Corps, 65/35, same cost share
    as normal, would do those regular lifts to keep the system up
    to its design level.
        OK. I think, Colonel, that goes through my main areas that
    I wanted to focus on. We have a second panel, so I do want to
    give them ample opportunity, but thanks very much for being
    here today.
        Colonel Hansen. Well, thank you, Senator, and again, thanks
    for your leadership.
        [Applause.]
        Senator Vitter. And if I could ask our second panel to come
    up and be seated, and as they do, I will be introducing them.
        We're really pleased to have four experts and individuals
    from the local area. First, Mr. John Monzon, P.E., Regional
    Director of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
    Authority--West. That's the main levee board on the westbank
    and John is the head of it. Prior to serving in that capacity,
    John was Operations Division Chief with the Louisiana Coastal
    Protection and Restoration Authority, which was responsible for
    oversight and technical review of all of this work at the State
    level, and he was also CPRA liaison between the levee districts
    and the Corps for levee accreditation.
        We also have Todd Murphy, President of the Jefferson Parish
    Chamber of Commerce. Todd has served as the President for the
    past 3 years and represents businesses in the largest parish in
    the New Orleans region, in terms of population, a number of
    businesses and a number of jobs. Prior to leading the Chamber,
    Todd served as Senior Vice President of Omni Bank and Iberia
    Bank for 13 years, where he guided new business development and
    government relations.
        Bob Turner is Regional Director of the Southeast Louisiana
    Flood Protection Authority--East, so that's sort of the main
    levee board on the east bank. And Bob is a Registered
    Professional Civil Engineer with 30 years' experience in
    engineering. In 2007, Bob was appointed to his position and
    charged with oversight of flood protection for all or part of
    five parishes surrounding Lake Pontchartrain and the governance
    of the Orleans, East Jefferson and Lake Borgne Basin Levee
    Districts. Bob has an extensive background in hurricane and
    flood protection.
        And last, but certainly not least, is Shirley Laska, Ph.D.,
    Professor Emerita, Sociology, at UNO. Dr. Laska is a
    Profession, Emerita, of Sociology and Founding Past Director of
    the Center For Hazards Assessment Response and Technology at
    UNO. It's called UNO-CHART. She's been conducting applied
    research on natural and technological hazards and disaster
    response for 30 years and her work includes studies on
    residential flood mitigation, hurricane response, coastal land
    loss effects, coastal fisheries and many other topics.
        Thank you all for being here. More importantly, thanks for
    all of your ongoing work in this area, and we'll hear 5-minute
    testimony from each of you, in the order that I introduced you,
    starting with John.

    STATEMENT OF JOHN R. MONZON, P.E., M. ASCE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR,
          SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA FLOOD PROTECTION AUTHORITY--WEST

        Mr. Monzon. Good morning, Senator Vitter----
        Senator Vitter. Good morning.
        Mr. Monzon [continuing]. Chairman Vitter, and members of
    the committee. Thank you for giving me this opportunity this
    morning.
        As you stated earlier, I am the Regional Director of the
    Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority--West. We are in
    charge of two levee districts on the Westbank, of the Greater
    New Orleans area, namely the Algiers and West Jefferson Levee
    Districts.
        The SLFPA-West oversees the operation and maintenance of
    over 100 miles of westbank and vicinity levees, including 33
    miles along the Mississippi River and 67 miles of hurricane
    protection levees.
        The Westbank Hurricane Protection Project began in 1986,
    when Congress secured authorization and funding to have the
    United States Army Corps of Engineers build the Westbank
    Hurricane Protection Levees, starting at Westwego to the Harvey
    Canal.
        The entire Westbank and Vicinity System was incomplete at
    the time that Katrina made landfall on the shores of Louisiana.
    If Hurricane Katrina had shifted over to the west and made its
    way up Barataria Bay, the entire westbank would have flooded.
        Based on lessons learned from levee and floodwall failures
    in the New Orleans area that were caused by storm surge, the
    Corps of Engineers received appropriations from Congress to
    design and build the HSDRRS features on the Westbank and
    Vicinity Projects.
        In the nearly 10 years since Hurricane Katrina has passed,
    the Westbank and Vicinity Projects are now nearly complete and
    the citizens inside this system have the best level of
    hurricane protection they have ever experienced.
        While there were some good outcomes from the construction
    of the Westbank and Vicinity HSDRRS projects, there were a
    couple of hardships along the way.
        One of the hardships was caused by the June 1st, 2011
    deadline to finish the HSDRRS. There were contractors that were
    aware of this deadline and used it to their advantage when
    negotiating change orders. In some cases, the deadline created
    sloppy construction practices and an environment where quality
    control was lacking.
        Such was the case on the WBV 14c.2 Project where the
    contractor stretched the limits of blending in the soil
    specifications and caused an inordinate amount of woody debris
    in the levees. Eventually the Corps did agree to a task force
    that investigated the effects of the woody debris in the
    levees.
        On the positive side, as a lesson learned, the task force
    recommended a compromise in which parts of the levee that had
    the most woody debris were capped with additional clean clay.
    It also recommended that the soil specifications be amended to
    limit the amount of organic material and better define the
    allowable blending process.
        Some of the sloppy construction could have been averted if
    the construction contracts would have included provisions for a
    timely halt in construction in order to give the non-Federal
    sponsor and local sponsors an opportunity to seek corrective
    measures from the Corps. Also, contracts should have had a
    considerable retainer, in the amount of 10 percent or above,
    and those retainers should not have been paid until the Federal
    and non-Federal sponsors were satisfied that the contract is
    complete and finished according to plans and specifications.
        A second hardship that was encountered along the
    construction process was caused by the division of the HSDRRS
    projects between the Hurricane Protection Office, HPO, and the
    Protection and Restoration Office, the PRO. There were
    inconsistencies in construction practices and design waivers,
    such as the use of uncoated steel piles and the lack of
    cathodic connectivity between the piles.
        An expert review panel on the Greater New Orleans HSDRRS
    design guidelines concurred that the use of sacrificial steel
    is not a good practice in this region.
        Most of these issues occurred on the Lake Pontchartrain and
    Vicinity projects managed by the HPO office and will arguably
    add maintenance costs over the life of the projects. For
    consistency, all future projects should be operated out of one
    office.
        Some well-intended specification changes during
    construction created other hardships. In order to build
    stronger earthen levees, the soil specifications were changed
    to increase the clay content and decrease the organic content.
        This created a problem in establishing a grass cover on the
    levees, because the clay was too hard to allow the root mass to
    become established and the soil did not contain enough organic
    material to encourage root growth. This became a problem
    because levees without grass cover are susceptible to erosion
    during rain events. In some cases, the contract was considered
    complete without adequate turf establishment.
        The projects were turned over to the non-Federal sponsor
    where the Corps had to take corrective measures with hired
    labor forces. This wound up costing more time and money. In the
    future, specification changes should be vetted by the non-
    Federal sponsor prior to wholesale changes.
        In conclusion, the Westbank and Vicinity is better prepared
    against storm surge from tropical events. The West Closure
    Complex has closed the entry point of storm surge into the
    Harvey and Algiers Canals and has reduced potential flooding in
    these basins.
        The cost to operate, maintain, repair, rehabilitate and
    replace this $1 billion facility is approximately $3 million
    per year. This is a heavy burden to the local sponsors without
    Federal participation.
        Most of the HSDRRS projects are complete, with the
    exception of some project modifications and armoring. The Corps
    was mandated to provide resiliency to the system for storm
    events greater than the 100-year storm.
        The Corps chose to use armoring products to provide this
    level of resiliency, in lieu of additional height. These
    armoring products were tested at the University of Colorado and
    proved to be effective in providing erosion resistance from
    overtopping events. However, the system is still susceptible to
    overtopping and flooding will still occur, depending on the
    size of the storm. There are homes and places that will flood
    again.
        Moreover, the recently awarded armoring contracts have
    indicated that it will cost as much to armor the levees as it
    will cost to raise the levees an average height of 2 feet.
        The Corps has also indicated the future costs to lift and
    armor these levees will be the responsibility of the non-
    Federal sponsor.
        Future costs to lift and armor these levees should be cost-
    shared between the Corps and the non-Federal sponsor, as
    stipulated in the WRRDA bill, at a 65/35 percent cost share.
        We are hopeful that recent mandates in the 2014 WRRDA bill
    will bring some relief to the local sponsors as we begin to
    operate, maintain and repair, rehabilitate and replace the
    Westbank and Vicinity projects.
        Again, thank you for giving me this opportunity.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Monzon follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Vitter. Thank you very much, John. Now we'll hear
    from Todd Murphy.

     STATEMENT OF TODD P. MURPHY, PRESIDENT, JEFFERSON CHAMBER OF
                                COMMERCE

        Mr. Murphy. Thank you. Good morning, Senator Vitter----
        Senator Vitter. Good morning.
        Mr. Murphy [continuing]. And members of the Committee on
    the Environment and Public Works and, of course, the public,
    that have come out to this beautiful facility.
        My name is Todd Murphy, and for the last 3 years, I've
    served as President of the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce. As
    Senator Vitter mentioned, we represent businesses in the
    largest parish in the region, centrally located, in the middle
    of the region, and we represent the largest number in terms of
    population; number of businesses and number of jobs.
        As a lifelong resident of Jefferson Parish, I can attest to
    the climate of work and life before, during and, of course,
    after Hurricane Katrina. We thought we had stress every day,
    from everyday work routines and everyday challenges of life.
    Then comes a nearly 60-day evacuation, for most, from the area
    and many more months and years of inconvenience and aggravation
    to the life in which we knew.
        The people and businesses of the region simply prevailed
    through the adversity, and many got very creative in how to
    reopen business to best serve the public.
        [Off microphone] a professional banker at the time, our
    bank joined two dozen other banks to jointly open in locations
    that met the usually basic requirements of safety,
    accessibility, electricity, and, of course, air conditioning,
    which is necessary in mid-September in south Louisiana.
        Approved by the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions
    and supported by local, State and Federal regulatory and
    security agencies, 14 locations were opened in our parish, each
    housing three to five respective banks.
        So a bank branch opened and operated at Bank A, and, for
    example, each teller line was a different bank. You had a Bank
    A, a Bank B, Bank C, Bank D, and we did this throughout the
    parish. Proper marketing was done through radio and signage to
    make sure all customers were properly provided for. This went
    on for about 4 weeks and was certainly an example of
    collaboration at its best.
        And I mention this because today, as we continue to watch
    storms and prepare for storms, industries like banking, like
    health care, like financial services, are all still
    collaborating and working to be prepared, working through our
    Chamber of Commerce in Jefferson Parish and other regional
    organizations to be prepared and to collaborate through these
    potential storms.
        In fact, as we would see in the years to come, our area
    would rely on collaboration, as noticed above, and, of course,
    the resiliency of its people. And the result has been an
    evolution of stronger, more efficient businesses built with
    loyal and passionate employees.
        The number of restaurants in our areas alone has more than
    doubled, and tourism and air travel have reached their
    respective numbers, before Katrina. Retail, services and
    manufacturing are all strong.
        We still have storm threats, and as most recent as 2012, a
    5-day evacuation. Yet, today we have more confidence in the
    levee system that has been rebuilt and understand the need to
    do more for the coastal communities.
        Water management is actually now Southeast Louisiana's
    second largest industry sector, which has added more jobs than
    any other sector since 2010. The State of Louisiana and Greater
    New Orleans have been more proactive around the resiliency
    issue than perhaps any other region in the country.
        Moreover, a few points on this resiliency. Resiliency is an
    existential issue. Without proactive strategies to manage and
    combat environmental threats, the post-Katrina gains in the
    Greater New Orleans area from new real estate developments to
    jobs and industry will be lost.
        Ecosystem restoration is economic development. Diversifying
    an economically promising industry sector is arising from local
    firms' constant response to local disasters.
        And finally, the success of Greater New Orleans equates to
    the success of the Nation. At the mouth of the Mississippi
    River, supporting one of the Nation's largest deltas and most
    significant energy strongholds, Greater New Orleans strengths
    and weaknesses are felt nationally.
        As a clear outcome of the extraordinary manmade and natural
    disaster of the last decade, Greater New Orleans serves as a
    model for the country in innovative policies, plans,
    leadership, work force and industry development, and
    infrastructure investment around resiliency.
        In fact, Louisiana-based firms have received over $327
    million in State and Federal prime contracts related to
    Hurricane Sandy response, recovery and rebuilding.
        I'd like to close by thanking Senator Vitter for this forum
    and members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
    works for allowing me to testify today on such short notice.
        It is critically important for the businesses and residents
    of this region and Louisiana to have adequate protection
    against catastrophic storms and storm surge so that we're able
    to foster and grow a vibrant local and State economy.
        Thank you very much.
        Senator Vitter. Great. Thank you, Todd, very much. And next
    we'll hear from Bob Turner, Regional Director of the Southeast
    Louisiana Flood Protection Authority--East. Bob, thanks.

     STATEMENT OF ROBERT A. TURNER, P.E., CFM, REGIONAL DIRECTOR,
          SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA FLOOD PROTECTION AUTHORITY--EAST

        Mr. Turner. Good morning, Chairman Vitter.
        Senator Vitter. Good morning.
        Mr. Turner. Thanks for the opportunity to be here today to
    talk about our flood defense system in advance of this year's
    hurricane season, and also, you know, personally, I want to
    thank you for being such a strong advocate for flood protection
    in our area.
        The new Federal levee system is far better than the system
    we had before Hurricane Katrina, and today I'm happy to report
    that it is being well-maintained and it is in good condition.
        But to keep the system performing to the level authorized
    by Congress, there is still plenty of work that needs to be
    done. You see, our levees were designed be periodically lifted
    to sustain required elevations through the life of the project.
        In a Corps memorandum, General Peabody wrote, and I quote,
    ``Without additional levee lifts, the expected consolidation,
    settlement and subsidence and sea level rise will cause levee
    reaches within the system to fall below the required elevation
    necessary to provide 1 percent risk reduction as early as
    2016.'' And he went on to say that the system will no longer
    meet NFIP accreditation criteria when the first levee reach
    settles below the required elevation.
        Now, it's important to note that the Project Partner
    Agreement, signed by the Corps and the non-Federal sponsor,
    excludes such lifts from the maintenance responsibilities of
    the non-Federal sponsor. So it certainly stunned local partners
    when Corps attorneys claimed existing law did not allow the
    Corps to construct periodic levee lifts and share the cost with
    local partners, as had been done historically by the pre-
    Katrina Federal levee system.
        Surely, it was not the intent of Congress or the Corps to
    build a $14 billion Federal levee system such that it would
    provide the authorized level of protection for less than 5
    years.
        More recently, provisions were included in WRRDA 2014 to
    address this critical issue. It authorizes the Corps to
    construct periodic levee lifts with a 35 percent non-Federal
    cost share, provided a General Re-Evaluation Report, or GRR,
    finds that the work is technically feasible, environmentally
    acceptable and economically justifiable.
        It is imperative that the GRR be completed as soon as
    possible, but we realize that Corps reports and congressional
    appropriations take time. But some of our levee segments in the
    system will fall below authorized heights within the next 2 to
    3 years.
        So we are considering lifting some levee segments in
    advance of the Corps armoring effort to both maintain the
    required levee heights and avoid wasting tens of millions of
    dollars on armoring that must be removed and replaced as part
    of any levee lift.
        We would ask, at least, to receive project credits for the
    local funds that we use to lift those levees, before the
    required the Corps report is complete, and Federal funds can be
    appropriated for the needed lifts.
        WRRDA 2014 also designates responsibility to the Corps to
    operate and maintain the sector gate and barge gate across the
    Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, at the surge barrier, with a 35
    percent cost share for the non-Federal sponsor. But the Corps
    has informed us that they will not begin operating and
    maintaining those structures until funds have been appropriated
    for that purpose.
        So in the absence of the Corps, we are taking care of those
    facilities for the time being. Local funds expended to fulfill
    the Federal responsibility to operate and maintain and repair
    those structures should be reimbursed by the Corps to the non-
    Federal sponsor, or at least used to offset the 35 percent cost
    share required for the future work.
        Our new system is definitely large and most definitely
    complicated, so it's not unusual for engineers to occasionally
    disagree on complex design decisions.
        For example, early in the design phase, the St. Bernard
    Parish T-walls, our non-Federal project team expressed concerns
    regarding the adequacy of the Corps design, of the steel pile
    foundation elements. But the Corps chose to proceed with
    construction without modifying that design.
        Then after completing construction, the Corps took a much
    more detailed look at that entire design, and although it has
    been determined that there is no immediate danger to the
    integrity of the T-walls, the Corps' latest analysis indicates
    that problems with steel piles could develop in the future.
        So their current plan is to install monitoring equipment at
    multiple locations along the 23-mile floodwall to measure
    corrosion rates and the stresses in the steel pile foundation
    elements.
        A robust monitoring program will allow for advance notice
    of developing problems so that plans and funding can be put in
    place to correct any design deficiencies.
        And we agree that a monitoring program is needed, but we
    believe the Corps should be responsible for operating and
    maintaining the monitoring equipment and collecting and
    analyzing that data. Such costs and responsibilities should not
    be transferred to the non-Federal sponsor.
        So in closing, first of all, I would like to thank you and
    your staff for all the hard work and attention you have given
    to reducing flood risk in our region, and thank you for
    allowing me the opportunity to provide this testimony.
        There's far more detail and supporting documentation in my
    written remarks, and I look forward to answering any questions
    you may have and assisting the committee in any way that you
    might find helpful. Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Turner follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Vitter. Great. Thank you, Bob, very much. And last,
    but certainly not least, we'll hear from Dr. Shirley Laska.

         STATEMENT OF SHIRLEY LASKA, PH.D., PROFESSOR EMERITA,
                       UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

        Ms. Laska. We social scientists always feel comfortable
    being last, so it's all good. Thank you, Senator Vitter, and
    the Environment and Public Works Committee for allowing me to
    make some comments this morning.
        Achieving better risk reduction from flooding for America's
    coastal communities is a goal that can never be taken seriously
    enough. Coastal areas vary in flood risk, but each coastal
    community's safety is critical because so many societal
    services and activities occur there and such large numbers of
    our citizens live within coastal communities.
        The takeaway from my brief comments is that each coastal
    area of interconnected communities must recognize the portfolio
    of efforts available to them to reduce their risk to flooding
    and must invest their time, energy and financial resources into
    these efforts.
        The second part of the takeaway is that the portfolio must
    be implemented as part of a system of risk reduction, not as
    separate activities, and we must grow as a society in
    understanding how the pieces fit together for the best risk
    reduction and how each of us can play a role.
        I know you are familiar with the idea of a system of
    protection. The Colonel was, of course, speaking about it this
    morning. We used to consider our system just one levee and all
    of its needed parts, the types of materials to construct it,
    the shape of it, the surface protection materials. We have
    improved our understanding of systems since Hurricane Katrina.
        Now the Corps is working to implement risk reducing systems
    that include multiple levees, flood walls and pumps, how they
    function together, and are now even adding non-structural
    methods into their systems.
        St. John and St. James Parishes, and Calcasieu Parish, in
    west Louisiana, are all participating with the Corps in
    planning projects that include elements other than large
    levees--such as ring levees around clusters of houses, culvert
    flaps to prevent back flow flooding, some home buyouts and
    elevating structures.
        Where the social scientists specializing in supporting
    flood risk reduction come in is to ``flesh in'' the system idea
    to include multiple activities that, taken together, thought
    about together, modified in conjunction with one another,
    create safer coastal communities.
        A recent report published by the National Academy of
    Science gives us a clear picture of what this idea means;
    ``There is a clear need for a comprehensive, tailored approach
    to flood risk management behind levees''--and I would change
    that to say ``in conjunction with levees''--``that is designed
    and implemented at the local level, it involves Federal and
    State agencies, communities, and households, takes into account
    possible future conditions, and relies on an effective
    portfolio of structural measures, nonstructural measures, and
    insurance to reduce the risk to those behind levees.'' Of
    course, in this area, we would also include coastal restoration
    in that list.
        Unfortunately, we are a long way from achieving what is
    recommended by this study. Levees give us too much confidence
    that they are all that needs to happen and too much confidence
    that we have levees high enough to give us excellent
    protection. This complacency is called ``the levee effect.''
        The protection of our New Orleans levee system today is 1
    percent risk per year, as you have heard the others say. That
    gives us a 26 percent chance of flooding in the course of a 30-
    year mortgage. Even though we know these odds are still very
    seriously high, the warning falls back into our consciousness
    to a real small corner of our thinking and we simply get on
    with what's happening here and now. I think the Colonel called
    it ``complacency.''
        Those who are going to survive the next flood most
    effectively are those who don't let that happen. All of us in
    this room who are ``locals'' treasure Angelo Brocato's Italian
    Ice Cream and Pastry. The store was badly flooded in Hurricane
    Katrina. The current owner, Mr. Brocato, II, can't elevate his
    store on Carrollton Avenue because it is an historic building
    in a row of such.
        During a recent Walk and Learn event, held by the Building
    Resilience Workshop and the Stay Local Small Business
    Organization, Mr. Brocato shared his knowledge of flood
    insurance--how much to buy, what it will cover--and what he can
    do to protect his equipment beyond insurance, elevating it as
    much as possible and moving what he can't into air-tight walk-
    in freezers. These efforts will enable him to be resilient.
        Mr. Gerry Fullington, the manager of Massey Sporting Goods
    store, on North Carrollton Avenue, on the Lafitte Corridor,
    also told the Walk and Learn group that his resiliency focuses
    on several activities: First, he always keeps his suppliers
    paid in full so that when he needs them to send replacement
    inventory quickly after a flood, they will. He also has a
    robust online business that will sustain the company while the
    stores are rebuilt the next time they flood.
        And finally, in the same neighborhood, the manager of the
    Gulf Coast Bank, Mr. Eric van Hoven, described how his staff
    shows all of the bank's clients how to do all of their business
    with the bank electronically so that when another flood occurs,
    the customers will be able to take advantage of the bank's full
    electronic banking services.
        Just these brief examples show the variety of risk reducing
    activities that three regular citizens of New Orleans have
    honed to reduce their business risks. They are paying attention
    to risk reduction, not letting it recede into their thinking
    and they have committed themselves to integrate different
    measures and to being part of the system of risk reduction in
    New Orleans.
        The president of the Greater Mid-City Merchants
    Association, Mr. Tim Levy, supported the Walk and Learn. We are
    hoping that such a co-teaching event will expand risk reduction
    commitments for all of their business owners so that when--and
    I didn't say ``if,'' but I said ``when''--another disaster
    occurs, the headline of The Advocate and The Times Picayune
    newspapers will read: ``Mid City Businesses; Some of the First
    to Return in Large Numbers.'' A similar goal exists for all
    business areas in the region.
        So creating a system of risk reduction effort for a
    metropolitan area is not rocket science. But unfortunately it
    is more difficult to achieve. We, as a society, don't really
    believe that we need to engage in it continually. Even we, who
    live in a metropolitan area that is fraught with flooding
    challenges and that is at the edge of the most quickly
    subsiding and inundating coast in the entire world, we do not
    pay enough continual attention.
        I will just read now the other recommended items. They are
    in my printed presentation, and that will conclude my comments.
        We should take extreme care to use post disaster funds very
    carefully for risk reduction. We should not waste a cent.
        We should buy flood insurance. We should monitor Write Your
    Own companies to encourage agents to promote flood insurance.
    And, Senator Vitter, I know that's one of your concerns.
        We should monitor banks with federally backed mortgages to
    require flood insurance on insured homes. That protects the
    entire community.
        We should get Federal subsidy for lower and middle income
    residents for skyrocketing insurance premium rates, as some of
    you mentioned earlier.
        We should recognize the importance and commit to paying
    local costs for operation and maintenance of levees. We spoke
    about that this morning.
        We should add additional elevations to the required
    building elevation. Some communities are doing it, but not
    enough.
        We should discontinue construction of slab-on-grade houses
    in surge risk areas and dense subdivisions because it's
    difficult to elevate them if they get flooded.
        We should understand the reasoning and follow the NFIP
    construction requirements.
        We should work toward achieving more safety for critical
    and public buildings, in terms of elevation, because the funds
    acquired for rebuilding them will never come to us again.
        We should demand and have implemented by the government,
    and its contractors, efficient and effective post disaster
    recovery, including mitigation, and that was mentioned this
    morning.
        We should increase community and parish participation in
    the Community Rating System.
        And finally, we should take special consideration of
    restoring storm-safe housing for lower income residents, those
    who can the least afford to return because of their income.
        So these must all be taken and work together as a system
    with the residents, with the officials, the Federal level, with
    the Congress, in order for us to hope to achieve the goal of
    being able to stay in this place, which all of us so much love.
    Thank you, Senator Vitter.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Laska follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Vitter. Thank you very much, Shirley. Thank you
    very much. Just a couple of questions. First, let me start with
    John and Bob, since they're in charge of these systems we're
    talking about.
        Besides future levee lifts, which we've talked about,
    besides the Corps responsibility to run these big structures,
    which we talked about--put those on the side--what are the top,
    besides that, what are the top two or three potential gaps or
    vulnerabilities in the system that you all are particularly
    focused on? And each of you can speak in turn.
        Mr. Monzon. I think, in general, future funding, to be able
    to maintain and operate the system, in general. The earthen
    levees--the flood protection system on the westbank is made up
    mostly of earthen levees. We have some flood walls. We had some
    other features that are not in Federal navigable waterways,
    like the WCC. We have a sector gate and a pump station that we
    inherited from the HSDRRS projects at the Bayou Segnette
    complex. That is not part of the--that is not included in the
    WRRDA bill.
        So there are other--just making sure that we have enough
    funds to adequately operate and maintain, and repair and
    rehabilitate and replace these features. We cannot go back to
    the days of Katrina where things weren't done just because we
    didn't have the funding. So the funding will be critical for
    the westbank facilities in the future.
        Senator Vitter. OK. Bob.
        Mr. Turner. Thank you, Senator. I agree request John with
    just about everything that he said. I think, you know, there's
    a couple of things that we really need to be concentrating on
    here, from my perspective, even on the eastbank, and that is,
    keeping the system to the authorized level of protection. That
    is certainly--you know, has to be one of our most important
    priorities.
        And that's going to be difficult to do if we can't get the
    Corps to participate with, you know, lifting these levees, as
    they originally, I think, intended to do, as time progresses,
    because we know that the levees are going to subside, the sea
    level is rising, and we're seeing the effects of that already.
        The other thing I think that we have, you know, we're
    looking to try to do some changes to, regards the Inner Harbor
    Navigation Canal Corridor.
        And the way that the system is set up right now, whenever
    there's a storm coming, all the vessels have to be evacuated
    from that corridor because the--a lot of the areas adjacent to
    the levees there still have the old I-walls that are still in
    place, and although they provide protection from normal water
    levels and high water levels, if they are impacted by a vessel,
    they're going to fail, and so that could potentially put some
    water into areas wherever those failures occur. And so, you
    know, we're still working with the Coast Guard and the Corps to
    try to do better planning with regards to that and trying to
    get those vessels out of there.
        We have also proposed some ideas on how to further reduce
    that risk by perhaps using some storage in the central wetlands
    to--just for a storm event, to further reduce that risk by
    lowering water levels in the corridor and in the wetlands, as a
    whole, and so those are the kind of things, I think, that we
    need to be looking at in the future.
        Senator Vitter. OK. Thank you, Bob. And Todd, let me ask
    you, you and the Chamber work on economic development all the
    time. I'm curious. As you talk to business folks considering
    some project here, whether they are from outside the State or
    whether they're more local, how often are you talking to them
    about their concerns about hurricane flood protection?
        Mr. Murphy. In almost every occasion. It's certainly a
    concern, you know, when people are looking to relocate or to
    expand. They are looking at the entire region from the
    standpoint of protection from storms, education,
    transportation, infrastructure, resources, work force. All of
    those come into play, but certainly, no one wants to expand or
    relocate only to have to pick up and run.
        Senator Vitter. And generally speaking, how often, what
    percentage of times is that a big factor leading to a decision?
        Mr. Murphy. You know, I would say that it happens on
    occasion. I think that there's so much that this area has to
    offer, that it certainly is a lure, if you will, to get
    companies here and to keep companies here.
        I mean, let's face it, people come here and they get
    hooked, and it typically takes about two Jazz Fests for that to
    happen.
        So, you know, we have a wonderful area and a lot of natural
    resources that are just abundant. But I think it is a concern.
    We saw it after Katrina. We saw several of our companies move
    north, across the lake. They're just simply tired of running.
    And so it is a concern. I think the confidence level has gotten
    better. Yet, everyone knows there is still much to be done.
        Senator Vitter. Right. OK. We're going to wrap up. In
    closing--first of all, let's give all of our great witnesses
    another round of applause. I really appreciate you all being
    here.
        [Applause.]
        Senator Vitter. Thank you for your testimony, thanks for
    all of your work. I also want to thank Messina's, that runs
    this space, and the Walnut Room. They have put up with us this
    morning and have been really helpful.
        I want to thank AV Express, Todd and his team, Gulf South
    Media, and Jim Land, our videographer, for helping us today,
    and I want to thank our hosts, who let us use the building, the
    Authority that runs the airport and related facilities. Thank
    you all very much.
        And thanks to all of you for coming out. I hope you found
    this useful, but certainly, I don't want it to be an isolated
    event. I want it to be a continuing conversation, so please
    keep this handout that you have handy. On the left-hand side of
    the page, in the blue column, is all of my contact information.
        Please use that as questions, ideas, suggestions or
    specific problems, like some of the insurance and other
    problems that we were talking about, come up, call me and my
    staff, get us involved. We work on that stuff all the time. And
    if you have those issues today, talk to us here at the table
    before you leave and we'll get your information and we'll get
    right to work on it.
        And again, this has all of my contact information,
    including our website, which has easy email access.
        As we close and as we go into hurricane season, which
    starts June 1st, I would just repeat what many of us have said.
    This protection system is important. Coastal restoration is
    important. Mitigation programs, like raising structures, are
    important, but ultimately, probably what's most important for
    each of us, as individuals and families, is personal and family
    preparedness. So take that into account and have a plan, as we
    approach June 1st.
        Thank you all very much for being here today.
        [Additional material submitted for the record follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                  [all]