Link to Reference: Larry Wheeler, DEMOCRAT WASHINGTON BUREAU, 2/26/06

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Highlights:
- More disasters of Hurricane Katrina-proportions are a certainty because the United States has no policy to control growth in danger zones at the water's edge.
- The number of Americans living near the shore increased by 23.6 million between 1980 and 2005,
- The 3,000-square-mile Gulf of Mexico ''dead zone'' off the Texas-Louisiana coast is well-known. Aquatic life there has perished. Spawning has halted.

PART ONE OF TWO: GROWTH AND OUR SHORES

More disasters of Hurricane Katrina-proportions are a certainty because the United States has no policy to control growth in danger zones at the water's edge.

In a single generation, land along the nation's fragile coasts has been gobbled up, concentrating wealth at the shore, threatening the environment and putting at risk millions of people and property worth billions of dollars.

A three-month Gannett News Service examination found:

Already crowded retirement havens like Palm Beach have packed hundreds of thousands of newcomers into condos and homes overlooking the water.

About 23 percent of the nation's estuaries do not meet state and federal clean-water standards for swimming, fishing or supporting marine species.

Pollution-related closings and swimming advisories at U.S. beaches hit an all-time high in 2004.

The National Flood Insurance Program is $18 billion in debt and lacks the ability to repay the money it borrowed from the U.S. Treasury to cover property losses from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The communities around the Great Lakes - America's freshwater coast - still struggle with industrial pollution as they face continuing cleanup costs and the beginnings of revitalization.

In many seashore towns, commercial fishing and shipbuilding industries have been replaced by tourism-driven economies and lower wages.

Demand for waterfront property has driven home prices so high that workers who staff the shops, restaurants, schools and police departments can't afford to live nearby.

"If we kick this down the street, the crisis five years from now will be irreversible," said James Watkins, a retired Navy admiral who was chairman of the 2004 U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

"We better get our act together," Watkins said.

Population growth

The number of Americans living near the shore increased by 23.6 million between 1980 and 2005, according to a Gannett News Service analysis of population trends in counties nearest to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.

If runaway land consumption and relentless growth in automobile use continue unchecked, many healthy shore communities could face sharp declines over the next 25 years, according to Dana Beach, director of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and an authority on coastal sprawl.

Beach authored a report for the Pew Oceans Commission that concluded many coastal watersheds may trip from healthy to damaged over the next two decades unless coastal communities adopt growth policies that slow land consumption and minimize polluted runoff from impervious surfaces.

''Part of the dilemma is that there is vast ignorance across the country about ecology,'' Beach said. "When we modify watersheds (with roads and buildings) we are changing the physical attributes, the biological attributes of the water bodies embedded in those watersheds."

Estuaries and bays

Most coastal communities recognize their bays and estuaries are in severe decline.

The 3,000-square-mile Gulf of Mexico ''dead zone'' off the Texas-Louisiana coast is well-known. Aquatic life there has perished. Spawning has halted.

Texas officials are trying to prevent further loss of habitat by limiting development along the 367-mile coast through state and federal coastal and wetland protection programs, according to the state's Center for Policy Studies and Environmental Defense.

Hazardous bacterial contamination caused more than 20,000 closings and health advisory days at beaches across the country in 2004, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council most recent report.

That's the most since the environmental group began tracking 15 years ago, said Nancy Stoner, director of council's Clean Water Project. Some of the increase is due to greater monitoring.

In 2005, Gulf Coast beaches from Texas to Florida were hit with dangerous algae blooms and fouled by fish kills. The algae blooms have forced local governments to post ''No Swimming'' signs while dead fish have sullied the beaches.

Patchwork of programs

The federal government has a patchwork of regulations and agencies that focus on pollution, flood control, the environment and growth patterns.

Some federal efforts, like the National Flood Insurance Program and beach restoration projects run by the Army Corps of Engineers, contribute to the growth of waterfront communities.

The value of property covered by the flood program is $555 billion, more than five times what it was 25 years ago. It generates about $2 billion in annual revenues, mostly from premium payments.

Hurricane Katrina demonstrated how a single disaster can overwhelm the flood program.

The federal government's lead agency on ocean and coastal issues now offers programs to help shore communities learn about the natural disasters that threaten their communities so they can make smarter decisions about growth.

However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's budget has remained relatively flat since 2000, limiting the reach of its small teams of coastal specialists. The agency's budget for the current year is $3.86 billion, down 4 percent from 2005.

Nevertheless, NOAA has teamed up with experts at the Environmental Protection Agency to address the problem.

''Our role is to provide coastal communities with the best information possible so they can make informed decisions about where and how to grow,'' said Tim Torma, a manager of the environmental agency's Smart Growth Program.

Pricing workers out

But many beach communities are now playgrounds for the wealthy while the working class is pushed out.

Karen Krafft, a single mother with two children, is typical.

She can barely make ends meet living in Nags Head, N.C., on the annual salary of $25,000 she makes as a credit counselor. Her summer weekends are spent cleaning vacation homes to make more money.

Krafft's story is not unusual, said Charles Colgan, chief economist for NOAA's National Ocean Economics Program. Large job losses in traditional ocean industries like shipbuilding, offshore energy production and commercial fishing have been offset by the growth in tourism and recreation, Colgan said.

Before Katrina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had seen the nation's largest percent gains in coastal tourism and recreation employment.

However, average annual wages in these sectors ($16,321) were less than half the average U.S. wage ($34,647).

Others who have the financial means are reluctant to leave paradise even after repeated assaults from dangerous hurricanes.

"It's just a wonderful place to be," said Lee Shrewsbury, a Nashville, Tenn., businessman who owns a house on Pensacola Beach that was battered but not destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

Solutions await action

In its final report, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy made more than 200 recommendations to highlight coastal issues and coordinate 11 Cabinet-level departments and four independent agencies that oversee some portion of the nation's ocean and coastal policy.

The ambitious agenda has received little attention from the White House or Congress. President Bush partially followed one recommendation and formed a Cabinet-level "Committee on Ocean Policy." The panel mostly serves as a clearinghouse for information on existing programs.

Contact Larry Wheeler at lwheeler@gns.gannett.com.

Originally published February 26, 2006

Link to Reference: RICHARD BURGESS, Acadiana bureau, Feb 28, 2006

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Highlights:
- Hurricane Rita piled more than 1,700 acres of debris in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron Parish, including hundreds of containers that could be filled with as much as 350,000 gallons of hazardous materials, according to a report prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- A prized national wildlife refuge that has effectively become a toxic dump
- Rita’s storm surge pushed the remnants of Holly Beach and other coastal towns into the refuge as well as storage tanks ripped from dozens of oil and gas facilities in the storm’s path.

LAFAYETTE — Hurricane Rita piled more than 1,700 acres of debris in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron Parish, including hundreds of containers that could be filled with as much as 350,000 gallons of hazardous materials, according to a report prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The report, by Research Planning of South Carolina, concludes if work does not soon begin to remove the hazardous materials, the refuge “will be at significant risk of chemical and physical damages for decades.”

“We are looking at a prized national wildlife refuge that has effectively become a toxic dump,” said Evan Hirsche, chairman of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, a coalition of groups that push for more funding of the federal refuge system.

Rita’s storm surge pushed the remnants of Holly Beach and other coastal towns into the refuge as well as storage tanks ripped from dozens of oil and gas facilities in the storm’s path.

Much of the debris in the refuge is a mix of housing materials and dead vegetation, which can suffocate marsh plants and disturb natural water flow.

Of greater concern are the estimated 759 containers that could contain anywhere from 115,000 to 350,000 of hazardous liquids and gases, according to the report.

The containers — likely filled with such substances as oil, cleaning solvents and other industrial supplies — range from 10,000-gallon tanks to 35-gallon drums.

The low estimate of 115,000 gallons of hazardous material assumes that on average each container is filled to 25 percent capacity, while the high estimate of 350,000 gallons assumes the average container is at 75 percent capacity.

The report, based on aerial photography and satellite images, does not include any containers that might have sunk into the marsh.

“It is likely that there are significant numbers of hazmat debris items buried in the debris piles not currently visible,” the report states.

A lack of funding has frustrated efforts to remove hazardous debris from the 124,500-acre refuge, a coastal haven for waterfowl and shorebirds.

“A lot of that has been left there, because it takes particular skills for hazardous removal,” said Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Tom MacKenzie.

Early estimates for the cleanup of hazardous materials in the Sabine refuge are at “$10 million plus,” MacKenzie said.

He said the Fish and Wildlife Service has its hopes pinned on a $132 million package proposed by the Bush administration to fund cleanup and rebuilding on refuges throughout the southeast damaged by hurricanes Rita, Katrina and Wilma.

The funding requires congressional approval and includes money for work on 61 refuges or other Fish and Wildlife Service facilities.

“The onus now is really on Congress to step up to the plate,” Hirsche said.

MacKenzie said the $132 million would be “a real shot in the arm” for the hurricane-damaged refuge system along the Gulf Coast.

Less extensive hazardous waste cleanup work is needed in nearby Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, MacKenzie said.

He said hazardous containers have been found in the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge and the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, both near New Orleans, but no formal studies of hazardous debris have been carried out at those refuges.

“I think Sabine is just the tip of the iceberg, the most compelling example,” Hirsche said.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has been removing hazardous material containers tossed about by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but the EPA is not performing cleanup work on federally owned lands, such as refuges.

In areas outside of the refuge in Cameron and Calcasieu parishes, EPA teams have recovered about 112,000 gas and liquid containers since November, said Chris Ruhl, who is helping coordinate EPA’s effort in southwest Louisiana.

The containers recovered so far in Cameron and Calcasieu include 7,371 55-gallon drums, 2,295 propane tanks and 1,100 containers larger than 55 gallons, Ruhl said.

Link to Reference: Jackie Damico, neworleanscitybusiness.com, 02/27/2006

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Highlights:
- New Orleans Public Schools officials estimate it will take three to five years and approximately $800 million to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.
- Construction work on 24 schools has already been put out to bid and selected. The schools with more damage will be bid on individual timetables,
- Roughly 60,000 students were enrolled in New Orleans Public Schools before Katrina. Estimates predict somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 students will return this year.

Desks and supplies are strewn through this classroom in Hardin Elementary in the Lower Ninth Ward. Hardin was one of the worst-hit schools in the Orleans Parish School District.
New Orleans Public Schools officials estimate it will take three to five years and approximately $800 million to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

All of the system’s 124 schools sustained damaged to varying degrees in the storm, said Martin McFarland, managing director for Alvarez and Marsal, the New York-based management firm in charge of the school system.

About $25 million in contracts have been awarded to repair the first wave of schools with initial projects focusing on schools that can be quickly brought back into service.

Construction work on 24 schools has already been put out to bid and selected. The schools with more damage will be bid on individual timetables, said McFarland.

About a quarter of the schools, 32 buildings, sustained minimal damage such as blown out windows and mold growth.

“A lot of them were damaged only because power was off and mold started to grow due to the moisture,” McFarland said.

Approximately 20 Orleans Parish schools have reopened. Ben Franklin Elementary, relatively unscathed, was the first non-charter public school in Orleans Parish to reopen Nov. 28.

Roughly 60,000 students were enrolled in New Orleans Public Schools before Katrina. Estimates predict somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 students will return this year.

A third of the schools, 41 buildings, are classified as badly damaged because they were filled with 4 to 5 feet of floodwater. Another 33 buildings were severely damaged after taking 8 to 10 feet of water. Many of those schools were filled with toxic mud and debris.

The worst damage afflicted the 18 schools in eastern New Orleans, the Ninth Ward and the City Park area. Those buildings are deemed total losses. Many of those buildings are missing walls and roofs.

FEMA has pledged to replace schools deemed “damaged beyond economical repair,” McFarland said.

McFarland says contracts awarded so far have been an even split between local and national companies. New Orleans-area companies working on the projects include NOMAR Construction, Arc Abatement, Crown Roofing and Remediation Experts.

The biggest problem the school system is facing with the rebuilding process is the lack of workers.

“I am shocked at the people who will not bid because they have no subcontractors to get the work done,” McFarland said. “A lot of people are working in Mississippi and Alabama. When they came to Louisiana, they go to Jefferson Parish first. There’s just not enough workers to go around.”

A lot of the schools haven’t begun demolition or removal of damaged drywall and flooring because the system is trying to focus resources where they can have the most effect.

Four months after the storm, crews assessing the damage are still finding dead dogs and other animals inside schools.

“It’s amazing that four months into this these animals are just being discovered,” McFarland said. “I think people in this country don’t know how bad the damage is down here.”

Hardin Elementary in the Lower Ninth Ward was one of the schools hardest hit. Floodwaters floated a car into the middle of one classroom.

Carver High School in eastern New Orleans was especially hard hit. Desks are piled eight high in classrooms filled with massive amounts of growing mold.

The most heavily damaged schools won’t be dealt with yet because there aren’t enough people living near the schools to justify reopening them, McFarland said.

“If they’re repaired depends on if we need them again,” said McFarland.

Contractors interested in bidding on the projects can contact Alvarez and Marsal at www.alvarezandmarsal.com.•

Link to Reference: Spencer S. Hsu and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post, 2/23/06

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Highlights:
- Floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina deposited arsenic, lead and petrochemical compounds across greater New Orleans in amounts that are potentially dangerous to human health, despite federal and state assurances that the sludge is safe, according to a new study based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data.
- "State and some federal officials have been consistently denying there are any significant risks from the toxic mud that has spread across the city,"
- Environmental activists are calling on government agencies to clean up contaminated sediment; test schools and playgrounds; and provide information and protective equipment to residential- and business-property owners.

WASHINGTON — Floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina deposited arsenic, lead and petrochemical compounds across greater New Orleans in amounts that are potentially dangerous to human health, despite federal and state assurances that the sludge is safe, according to a new study based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data.

The study, which was conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council and is being released today, urges the government to clean up the waste before permitting young children to return to the struggling city.

Government officials have minimized the public-health threat in New Orleans, the environmental group said. Louisiana officials have said some toxic contaminants have been found only on golf courses that use pesticides containing arsenic, but the NRDC report includes maps detailing dozens of high arsenic levels taken across wide swaths of the urban area.

"State and some federal officials have been consistently denying there are any significant risks from the toxic mud that has spread across the city," said Erik Olson, a senior NRDC lawyer. "The data they themselves have collected show that to the contrary, there are significant risks from arsenic and toxic chemicals that have blanketed much of New Orleans."

Environmental activists are calling on government agencies to clean up contaminated sediment; test schools and playgrounds; and provide information and protective equipment to residential- and business-property owners. Many toxins are especially dangerous to children, and metals such as lead can stunt development.

"Young children should not play in any areas where there is still sediment on the ground," wrote the report's authors, Gina Solomon and Miriam Rotkin-Ellman. "It would be best to keep children out of the city until cleanup has occurred."

Tom Harris, administrator of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's Environment Technology Division, said the NRDC and others have been "grossly misusing" state screening standards and presenting them as thresholds that would trigger government cleanups. He added that these toxicity guidelines would merit further investigation rather than an automatic cleanup, and would have to be greatly exceeded before harming young children.

"We have taken to date almost 1,000 soil and sediment samples in New Orleans," Harris said. "I have not seen any samples that were a problem for acute exposure, short-term exposure," meaning up to two years, he said.

The safety thresholds are based on exposure over 30 years, Harris said.

EPA spokeswoman Eryn Witcher said the agency "from day one" has provided air, water and soil sample analyses for its state and local partners, "quickly shared our information and then executed the appropriate next steps."

Also, the White House is scheduled to release a report today calling for the military to be more closely involved in handling large natural disasters as part of a plan to improve the government's emergency-response operations.

Link to Reference: Environment News Service, Feb 17, 2006

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Highlights:
- Despite public concerns about Bush administration political interference with science, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requiring prior headquarters approval for all communications by its scientists with the media
- The EPA’s screening of all press interviews is at variance with recent pronouncements of scientific openness by two other federal agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
- “Why are scientists at NASA free to answer questions about global warming while their colleagues at EPA are not?” asked PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “Science does not come in Republican or Democratic flavors; scientists should be able to discuss findings without having to check whether facts comport with management policy.”

WASHINGTON, DC, February 17, 2006 (ENS) - Despite public concerns about Bush administration political interference with science, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requiring prior headquarters approval for all communications by its scientists with the media, according to an agency email released Thursday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national association of government workers in natural resource agencies.

The EPA’s screening of all press interviews is at variance with recent pronouncements of scientific openness by two other federal agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

In a February 9, 2006 email to all staff, Ann Brown the news director for the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD), wrote, “We are asked to remind all employees that EPA's standard media procedure is to refer all media queries regarding ORD to Ann Brown, ORD News Director, prior to agreeing to or conducting any interviews…Support for this policy also will allow reasonable time for appropriate management response.” By contrast, on February 4, 2006, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin sent an all-employee email in which he committed the agency to “open scientific and technical inquiry and dialogue with the public.”

Griffin wrote, “It is not the job of public affairs officers to alter, filter or adjust engineering or scientific material produced by NASA's technical staff.”

On February 10, 2006, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher told The Washington Post that “I encourage scientists to conduct peer-reviewed research and provide the honest results of those findings,” adding that “My policy…is to have a free and open organization.”

“Why are scientists at NASA free to answer questions about global warming while their colleagues at EPA are not?” asked PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “Science does not come in Republican or Democratic flavors; scientists should be able to discuss findings without having to check whether facts comport with management policy.”

Scientists often fall outside the coverage of whistleblower protection laws, says Ruch, so scientists who violate agency gag rules may be punished for insubordination.

Legislation that would grant scientists the right to openly discuss their findings is pending before both houses of Congress. California Representative Henry Waxman, a Democrat, introduced HR 839 in the House, and Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, also a Democrat, introduced S 1358 in the Senate.

Link to Reference: James Varney, Staff writer, Feb 15, 2006

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Highlights:
- FEMA contractors have been using the Old Gentilly site, which closed in 1986, as an emergency receptacle for some of the millions of cubic yards of debris created by last year's storms. The site's reopening triggered protests from various groups who feared the antiquated landfill wasn't an environmentally sound site for new dumping, and FEMA ordered up the study in response to those complaints and lawsuits.
- There is a concern that relatively weak natural foundation soils underlying the Gentilly Landfill may be overloaded by ongoing waste placement and become unstable," the report said. "In particular, there is a potential that affected soils may include foundation soils below the MR-GO levee and extend out as far as the MR-GO canal face."
- We had already developed concerns about the close proximity of the landfill and the levee in our review of the city's levee system," van Heerden said. "And with all this new matter there is a potential for a lateral heave given this type of soil." It appears that lateral heave would come from the estimated 4 million cubic yards of waste that has been dumped at Old Gentilly since Katrina.

The pressure from a monstrous pile of debris put into the Old Gentilly Landfill since Hurricane Katrina could push mushy soil under the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet levee, weakening another piece of New Orleans' already shaky flood-protection system, according to an investigative study of the site. That finding was the most explosive in a final draft of the study commissioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and released Tuesday.

State environmental officials disputed the findings in the report and characterized its methodology as "haphazard."

FEMA contractors have been using the Old Gentilly site, which closed in 1986, as an emergency receptacle for some of the millions of cubic yards of debris created by last year's storms. The site's reopening triggered protests from various groups who feared the antiquated landfill wasn't an environmentally sound site for new dumping, and FEMA ordered up the study in response to those complaints and lawsuits.

"Very simply, there is a concern that relatively weak natural foundation soils underlying the Gentilly Landfill may be overloaded by ongoing waste placement and become unstable," the report said. "In particular, there is a potential that affected soils may include foundation soils below the MR-GO levee and extend out as far as the MR-GO canal face."

The potential development bears an alarming similarity to what some groups believe happened with the 17th Street Canal during Hurricane Katrina. Studies in the failure zone there indicate that porous soil underneath the floodwall's steel pilings probably destabilized the protective barrier and led to its collapse. A state Senate committee is expected to take up the report's findings at a hearing Thursday.

Meanwhile, what might be developing beneath the MR-GO levee has also caught the attention of engineers investigating the 17th Street Canal's failure. Ivor van Heerden, a geologist at Louisiana State University, said he hopes to launch a formal probe of the MR-GO levee's underground strength in the next 10 days. What investigators will be looking for is something called, informally, "a hamburger effect," in which pressure atop something forces what is underneath to squirt out the sides.

"We had already developed concerns about the close proximity of the landfill and the levee in our review of the city's levee system," van Heerden said. "And with all this new matter there is a potential for a lateral heave given this type of soil." It appears that lateral heave would come from the estimated 4 million cubic yards of waste that has been dumped at Old Gentilly since Katrina. Joel Waltzer, an attorney for the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, which has filed a suit against the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality that seeks the revocation of the landfill's post-Katrina permit, estimated the debris is in places piled as high as 130 feet above the landfill's old clay cap and covers about 220 of the site's 230 acres.

FEMA did not respond to phone calls late Tuesday afternoon, and officials from the Department of Environmental Quality said elements of the study were done in a haphazard fashion and without full consultation with either DEQ or other regulatory agencies. In addition, the authors of the FEMA report, who spent no more than 45 minutes on the ground at Old Gentilly, never requested any of the voluminous data amassed on Old Gentilly Landfill operations, said Chuck Carr Brown, DEQ's assistant secretary.

"We see no place for FEMA to act like a regulatory agency here," Brown said, noting that his department was still reviewing the final report and would most likely issue a more comprehensive response. "We have lots and lots of issues with this report. We as a department have been involved with this site for more than 20 years, and you'd think if you were doing a report out there you'd want to talk to the regulatory bodies involved and they didn't."

Despite Brown's protests, Tuesday's report appeared to confirm many of the fears of the environmental groups who opposed the new activity at the landfill. It notes there is a dearth of data allowing accurate measurements of groundwater contamination, runoff, gas buildups and the structural soundness of a clay cap on the old dumped material. The report suggests the landfill could become a kind of seeping, poisonous sponge with long-term, baleful results in eastern New Orleans and beyond.

That could translate into a legal predicament for FEMA, according to National Infrastructure Support Technical Assistance Consultants, which conducted the study.

The group "concludes that FEMA could potentially be exposed to high risk of future environmental liability based on current conditions and environmental history of this site," the report said.

The environmental groups voiced that doomsday scenario even before the report began, but Waltzer said he was stunned by the possibility another levee could be undermined by subsoil action.

"It is beyond ironic (that) we would allow millions and millions of pounds of waste out there when we don't have conservative estimates or reliable information about the impact," he said.

The possibility the city's recent nightmarish history could repeat should be a bugle for residents, he said. Waltzer, who lost an office in eastern New Orleans and a home in Gentilly in the post-Katrina flooding, said he is not willing to take further chances.

"They're threatening my levee now," he said. "Forget about whether or not you're an environmentalist. You don't monkey around with levees here anymore."

On Tuesday morning, the Senate Environmental Quality Commission was addressing the draft version of the report when Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-Marrero, said he received an anonymous copy of the final report. Senators and DEQ officials have rescheduled the hearing for Thursday morning, but Shepherd was outspoken about what he thinks could be a disaster.

"I'm hoping to sound the alarm because I'm very frightened and the public should be very frightened," he said. "This report is scary, and the DEQ has no answer except to say it's erroneous, and that's not going to cut it."

At DEQ, Brown insisted such talk is hyperbolic. He cited a 2004 study tied to the impact of additional waste being put on top of Old Gentilly's clay cap and said that study showed the site could hold 2,000 times as much debris as has been dumped there since Katrina. Furthermore, tests on the actual site soil do not reflect the destabilizing influence the report theorizes could occur, he said.

"The people who did this report should have had that data, and they didn't," he said.

Similarly, fears of water contamination are overblown, Brown said. An analysis of groundwater at the site on Nov. 9 reflected zero contaminants, he said. What's more, the public is being misled about the type of debris that is being dumped at the Old Gentilly site. Brown pointed to three points at which the debris is reviewed -- at curbside when it is picked up, by "eyes" in towers who survey the trucks when they arrive, and by "pickers" at the dumping location -- as evidence hazardous materials are not being mingled.

As a result, he bristles at suggestions New Orleans might be repeating a mistake made at the Agriculture Street landfill after Hurricane Betsy in 1965. In that case, city officials dumped and burned storm-related debris atop the former landfill, which subsequently morphed into a Superfund site, the designation imposed on the nation's most contaminated areas and one that requires expensive and lengthy cleanups.

. . . . . . .

James Varney can be reached at jvarney@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3386.

Link to Reference: Todd Horneck, Associate Editor, Feb 2006

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Highlights:
- Water systems that are now operating and able to maintain pressure in their distribution systems are no longer being significantly affected by coliform bacteria.
- In some heavily flooded areas, local officials may postpone repairs to water systems pending their decisions on how and when rebuilding may proceed. Most small public water systems have been able to repair or replace damaged infrastructure.
- Water systems in Louisiana that have lost pressure below 15 psi are placed on boil-water advisories, and about a dozen public water systems, predominantly non-community systems, remain in boil-water advisory status, although most of the water systems in boil-water advisory status are not currently operating.

Summary: Six months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf region, many are still struggling with the aftermath. Blake Atkins, chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Drinking Water Section, based in Dallas, TX, sat down with Water Technology in January to discuss the impact Katrina has had on water quality and treatment issues in the affected states and what the future holds.

Water Technology®: In rural areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, what were some of the most problematic contaminants that needed to be removed from the water to make it suitable for drinking?

Blake Atkins: In rural areas largely impacted by the hurricanes, coliform bacteria were the most prevalent and problematic contaminants. This was due to pressure loss in distribution systems.

Water systems that are now operating and able to maintain pressure in their distribution systems are no longer being significantly affected by coliform bacteria.

WT: At what point do you think most or all of the larger public water system infrastructures will be fully repaired in the region? How about small public systems or private wells?

BA: The larger public water systems have been able to repair impacted water treatment facilities to return them to operational status, and the vast majority of damaged distribution systems have been repaired.

In some heavily flooded areas, local officials may postpone repairs to water systems pending their decisions on how and when rebuilding may proceed. Most small public water systems have been able to repair or replace damaged infrastructure.

Some of the smaller public water systems associated with businesses that are no longer operating may never [be repaired or replaced].

WT: Are there any public systems still on boil-water orders?

BA: Water systems in Louisiana that have lost pressure below 15 psi are placed on boil-water advisories, and about a dozen public water systems, predominantly non-community systems, remain in boil-water advisory status, although most of the water systems in boil-water advisory status are not currently operating.

WT: Is federal financial assistance available to assist consumers or water treatment professionals to buy or repair treatment systems for individual homes or businesses? If so, how do they find out about it?

BA: FEMA s Public Assistance Program, which provides reimbursement funding to not-for-profit water systems, has funds for returning water infrastructure to pre-hurricane damage status. For-profit public water systems can apply to the Small Business Administration for loans.

WT: News reports about the hurricane s aftermath emphasized the large amounts of hydrocarbons, industrial chemicals, sewage, and other contaminants that the receding waters left on and in the ground. Will these pose long-term problems for treating groundwater in the region? Are you or other agencies making any special recommendations in this regard to consumers or treatment professionals?

BA: While some levels of contaminants were detected in floodwaters in the New Orleans area, water systems in that area rely on surface water treatment, and monitoring of treated water in these areas revealed no contaminants of concern. Most groundwater sources are located far from where chemical releases were possible, and fortunately, most of the groundwater sources are protected by geologic strata.

The US Geologic Survey intends to monitor some groundwater sources that are recharged by the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, but no special recommendations have been made at this time. Hundreds of bacteriological samples were analyzed free of charge to private well owners, and private well owners were advised of disinfection and flushing procedures following a flood.

WT: What technical advice would you have for water treatment businesses in the Gulf region trying to help their customers restore or improve water supplies affected by the hurricane? Are there are any specific treatment methodologies that appear to have been particularly well suited for post-hurricane recovery?

BA: From a lessons-learned standpoint, water systems should focus on backup and contingency plans. Most water systems lost pressure and were subsequently placed on boil-water advisories due to power loss.

If these water systems had an emergency connection to another water system that was able to maintain pressure, or if these systems had their own backup power generators, most boil-water advisories would have been averted. Disinfection and flushing were the treatment methodologies that were most effective in returning water systems to safe operations.

WT: How would you assess the response of the water treatment industry so far to the problems caused by the hurricane?

BA: [It] could be characterized as generous. In order to help maintain public health protection, many vendors were offering equipment and services at reduced or no cost to water systems.

Link to Reference: AMY WOLD, Advocate staff writer, Feb 13, 2006

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Highlights:
- Initial testing of the flood water showed extremely high levels of bacteria, sewage and chemicals from oil and gasoline. Speculation abounded about the “toxic soup” that would poison people and the land.
- Tests have shown that while the water was definitely unsanitary, it didn’t significantly differ from the normal storm runoff New Orleans experiences during heavy rain,
- He explained that most of the flooded areas were residential, not industrial. Even where a container of pesticide was left unsealed, the power of dilution in so much flood water made the impact negligible,

When Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, people predicted a life-threatening “toxic soup.” It never formed.

They expected Lake Ponchartrain to suffer or even die as contaminated water from New Orleans was pumped into it. That didn’t occur.

Then they waited for returning residents to pack emergency rooms with lung ailments from the toxic dust, contaminated soil and mold. That hasn’t happened yet. So far, state Epidemiologist Dr. Raoult Ratard said, nothing appears out of the ordinary with illness in the New Orleans area.

While Hurricane Katrina caused massive destruction, many dire environmental predictions failed to materialize, state officials say.

Initial testing of the flood water showed extremely high levels of bacteria, sewage and chemicals from oil and gasoline. Speculation abounded about the “toxic soup” that would poison people and the land.

Tests have shown that while the water was definitely unsanitary, it didn’t significantly differ from the normal storm runoff New Orleans experiences during heavy rain, state Department of Environmental Quality scientists say.

John Pardue, associate professor and director of the Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute at LSU, said his research results seem consistent with what DEQ and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found.

“It’s fair to say the water there was just like normal storm water,” Pardue said.

He explained that most of the flooded areas were residential, not industrial. Even where a container of pesticide was left unsealed, the power of dilution in so much flood water made the impact negligible, he said.

“For the most part, those things floated away pretty intact without major spills,” Pardue said.

Part of the confusion involves how some groups compare test results to standards, said Tom Harris, administrator of DEQ’s environmental technology division.

At one point, groups were applying drinking-water standards to flood-water samples, he said. The drinking-water standard is based on someone consuming two liters daily for 30 years. That wasn’t going to happen with New Orleans flood water, Harris said.

Another fear was that dust from contaminated soil would pose a severe health threat.

Harris said the way soil samples were taken led to some confusion.

The first round of EPA testing took samples from the worst areas instead of trying to get an overall picture of the city’s safety. So if contamination could be seen, a sample was taken, meaning testing was done on storm drains and in areas were there was no flood-water sediment, he said.

Harris said in one round of testing, DEQ found that out of 160 samples taken by EPA, only 14 were from actual flood sediment. The rest were from soils that were probably there before the flooding, he said.

Image persists
So where did the idea of a toxic New Orleans start, and why has that image lingered in the public mind?

Chalk that up to human nature, DEQ Secretary Mike McDaniel said. The concentration of industry led many people, even experts, to expect horrific contamination.

“Unfortunately, those first concepts took root and spread around the world,” McDaniel said.

News reports circulated of a chemical plant blast, train car explosions and the ever-popular toxic soup.

“None of it was true,” McDaniel said. “That’s the result of the initial feeding frenzy — what’s the comment I heard the other day? — of disaster porn. It just frustrated the dickens out of me.”

In December, federal, state and local officials held a news conference on the safety of New Orleans. Public health officials urged people to take precautions against mold and to be careful while removing debris, but insisted the water, soil and air were safe.

“We’ve seen very little to be concerned about. Actually, nothing to be concerned about,” said June Sutherlin, a DEQ toxicologist.

Another take
Not everyone agrees with that assessment.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network have repeatedly accused DEQ and EPA of playing down the dangers.

Pam Dashiell, president of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association in New Orleans, cites an analysis by Dr. Gina Solomon.

“The concerns have not yet been addressed,” Dashiell said. “There’s been no remediation. It’s a matter of the EPA just not doing its job.”

Solomon, a physician who works with the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, said she agrees with the test numbers posted by EPA and DEQ, but disagrees with how those results are being portrayed by the agencies.

She takes exception to the statement that there was no “toxic soup” in New Orleans.

“I think it all hinges on the definition of toxic soup,” she said.

There’s no dispute that oil, gasoline and a lot of bacteria were in the flood water, she noted.

While that contamination might be at the same level as the runoff from any storm in the city, the major difference is exposure. People walking through an inch or two of water have far less exposure to contaminants than those swimming in it, a common occurrence after Katrina, Solomon said.

Downplaying the results, she said, is an effort to make people feel comfortable moving back to New Orleans and an attempt to avoid having to clean anything up.

A question of arsenic
Solomon said arsenic levels are high all over the New Orleans area. Some groups are calling for soil removal in hotspots.
DEQ’s Harris said the higher levels his agency found were almost exclusively from samples taken from golf courses, where arsenic-containing pesticides are used.

Harris said Louisiana’s background level for arsenic is 12 parts per million. Even though that might be above EPA standards, people were likely living with those levels before the storm, he said.

“Even potting soil you bring home can have 100 parts per million of arsenic in it,” said June Sutherlin, a DEQ toxicologist.

Some people note that even if the post-Katrina contamination isn’t worse than what existed before the flooding, people still need to know what dangers they face.

Pardue noted that much of New Orleans had lead levels above residential standards before the storm. That doesn’t mean the results should be ignored, he said.

He said this question still remains: Should areas with higher arsenic and lead be cleaned up before rebuilding?

If it’s not feasible to clean to residential standards, people should be told of the long-term risks associated with returning — even if the contamination existed before the storm, Pardue said.

McDaniel said DEQ has been under no pressure to minimize the dangers. He said the department’s information is corroborated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a long list of other agencies.

“Our pressure is to get the facts out,” he said.

Link to Reference: Matthew Brown, West Bank bureau, February 06, 2006

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Highlights:
- 100 Louisiana oyster farmers facing hard times since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed their oyster reefs are headed back to the water, as newly minted state contractors charged with assessing the storms' long-term damage.
- The only money so far in the pipeline is $199 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Emergency Conservation Program. That money will be split between farmers and oyster growers across six states that had hurricanes in 2005: Louisiana, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.
- Thousands of acres of oyster reefs were smashed by Katrina and Rita. The hurricanes also churned up millions of tons of silt in areas such as Lake Borgne and Black Bay. As the silt settled, it smothered about 60 percent of the shellfish crop east of the Mississippi.

More than 100 Louisiana oyster farmers facing hard times since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed their oyster reefs are headed back to the water, as newly minted state contractors charged with assessing the storms' long-term damage.

The work is a welcome change for the commercial fishers, who in many cases lost houses and boats on top of severe damage to the resource they depend on.

"It is more or less raining in a dry bucket for these fishermen to go out and do this. They can go out there and in a couple of weeks make 10 grand they didn't have," said Ricky Melerine, a St. Bernard Parish councilman coordinating the damage assessment in his parish.

Participants test the consistency of water bottoms using long poles, gathering information the state can use to decide where to rebuild reefs. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is spending about $1.2 million on the program.

That pales against the $2.2 billion economic blow Louisiana's seafood industry suffered in the storms. And John Roussel, assistant secretary for fisheries, said his cash-strapped agency has little more to offer fishers unless the state's call for $700 million in federal fisheries assistance is answered.

The only money so far in the pipeline is $199 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Emergency Conservation Program. That money will be split between farmers and oyster growers across six states that had hurricanes in 2005: Louisiana, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. The money will be split again among various agricultural interests, including oysters, poultry and swine, according to state and USDA officials.

"When you start breaking that $200 million amongst all those, I don't know what kind of share oysters might get," Roussel said.

Thousands of acres of oyster reefs were smashed by Katrina and Rita. The hurricanes also churned up millions of tons of silt in areas such as Lake Borgne and Black Bay. As the silt settled, it smothered about 60 percent of the shellfish crop east of the Mississippi.

"In some cases reefs that were there for 40, 50 years are not there anymore," said Port Sulphur oyster farmer Pete Vujnovich Jr.

The oyster grounds east of the river are some of the top oyster-producing areas in the country, accounting for about one-sixth of all oysters harvested nationwide annually. Historically, Louisiana oyster growers working 2.3 million acres of public and private leases have provided more than a third of the nation's oysters.

State officials are hoping the USDA money will pay for future efforts to rebuild ruined reefs, an expensive endeavor that involves laying down thousands of tons of limestone or broken oyster shells.

First, however, the oyster farmers have been asked to pinpoint exactly what areas are salvageable. That work already has begun in St. Bernard and is expected to begin this week in Plaquemines.

The oyster farmers are surveying 550 plots east of the Mississippi River. The state is paying $2,000 per plot, and each plot takes about two days to survey, according to participants.

Water-bottom hardness is gauged by sticking poles into the mud at 400 locations within each plot.

To provide suitable oyster habitat, the bottom must be hard enough so that new reef material does not sink. Tidal currents must be present to bring a steady flow of nutrients that oysters consume by filtering from the water.

"Right now we're going to have to concentrate on what Katrina left us to work with that's viable or that could be easily restored," Vujnovich said. "The places that took extensive damage, if we don't have any help, we're going to have take care of over the years. It will be a lifetime."

. . . . . . .

Matthew Brown can be reached at mbrown@timespicayune.com or at (504) 826-3784.

Link to Reference: Natalie Chambers, The Mississippi Press, February 01, 2006

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Highlights:
- Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, told local officials that unless a spill is determined intentional or negligent, fines will not be assessed.
- During the 90-minute session, county supervisors repeatedly mentioned an inability to get straight answers from federal authorities, particularly on debris removal issues.
- "If we can improve the flow of monies, then certainly that would be better. As we all know that stream of money, from Federal Emergency Management Agency to Mississippi Emergency Management Agency then to reimburse us, that continues to be a bit of a nightmare and it is placing us all in a significantly restrictive financial capacity for what we are trying to accomplish,"

PASCAGOULA -- When Hurricane Katrina hit Jackson County on Aug. 29, it left Moss Point's lift stations battered. The city's inability to have total repairs in place has caused Mayor Xavier Bishop concern that an unavoidable spill could mean major fines for Moss Point.

Bishop was able to relax just a little Tuesday.

Phil Bass, head of the Office of Pollution Control for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, told local officials that unless a spill is determined intentional or negligent, fines will not be assessed.

Jimmy Palmer, regional administrator of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4, arranged the session to help local leaders find ways to resolve issues that are slowing the storm recovery process.

Palmer also told the group several industrial sites along the Gulf Coast -- including Rohm and Haas, Bayou Casotte, Fort Bienville and Dupont DeLisle -- have been tested for storm-related contaminants.

"So far, we've not found any evidence of any problem caused by Katrina," he said.

During the 90-minute session, county supervisors repeatedly mentioned an inability to get straight answers from federal authorities, particularly on debris removal issues.
"I think the most frustrating part has been the fact it's very difficult at times to nail down procedures," said Supervisor Manly Barton.

Barton said Hurricane Katrina has brought on a different level of response and anxiety.

When a personnel change is made, policy and procedure appear to change too, he said.

"What we got to do is to deal with a host of regulations that are out there that govern various things. One problem that you know very well is the asbestos issue," Palmer said.

Supervisor John McKay said the first four months after the storm, the county was able to knock down structures without problems. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was replaced by a private debris contractor, more stringent requirements were put in place.

"Now, starting the fifth month, we have to have our contractor out there with a water hose wetting it down, in case we have asbestos in a building. We're not given enough inspectors to go out and inspect it, which would alleviate the problem of having to haul it to a different landfill. So the relaxed regulation now is to just assume it's there and take it to a middle-class landfill, not a hazardous waste (landfill), which costs the government a whole lot more money," McKay said.

Palmer said key to removal of a structure is it must be deemed "unsound and in danger of imminent collapse."

"Things get tricky though when there is building that's still structurally sound," he said.

Supervisor Frank Leach said after the storm, local governments were ill-prepared to deal with wastewater issues.

"Every lift station across this Coast, literally, being out of commission because they went under water. All those electronics and pumps became a nightmare. We were searching diligently for the right type of equipment," he said.

Trying to get small items, such as chlorine tables, was practically impossible, he said.

There is a need for a preventive plan or a way to have spare parts at one's disposal, he said.

Leach also told Palmer finances have become a roadblock to recovery.

"If we can improve the flow of monies, then certainly that would be better. As we all know that stream of money, from Federal Emergency Management Agency to Mississippi Emergency Management Agency then to reimburse us, that continues to be a bit of a nightmare and it is placing us all in a significantly restrictive financial capacity for what we are trying to accomplish," Leach said.

Bass said his agency also wants the recovery process to pick up speed.

"By the same token, we've got to be sure that proper procedures are being followed keeping the dust down and when it's disposed of, you're not putting it somewhere where 10 or 15 years later it's going to cause a bigger problem than it's causing today. We recognize too, with only three solid waste landfills in the six coastal counties, that those aren't going to be logistically located to handle this. So we looked at upgrades to Class 1 facilities and we are doing that with everyone that will apply and agrees to keep up with paperwork and special coverings," Bass said.

Bass said mechanisms are in place to accommodate as quick and inexpensive removal as possible.

Palmer said during the storm, a humanitarian effort took effect.

With five months post-Katrina and more auditing being done, Palmer said federal authorities are reticent because they know they are being monitored.

"It has taken a tremendous effort to just get basic utilities back up and going and we're very fortunate that we've gotten there now," Palmer said.

"Now we're shifting into the issues of continuing to clean up the mess, clean up debris. For months, we just tried to get the roads open so we could move ourselves around. Now we are moving into the difficult phase of just cleaning up the rubble and then taking down buildings that have got to come down. That presents a whole new set of issues," Palmer said.

Pascagoula officials sought an extension of deadlines for stormwater improvements and debris removal.

"They are stopped up and we're fixing to get into rainy season," said David Groves of Ocean Springs.

Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran asked why an environmental study would take two years if a drawbridge is selected to replace the existing damaged Biloxi Bay bridge.

Palmer said he will research the issue.

Reporter Natalie Chambers can be reached at nchambers@themississippipress.com or (228) 934-1429.

Link to Reference: CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press, January 30, 2006

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Highlights:
- Everywhere scientists look, they see disrupted patterns in and along the Gulf of Mexico.
- Scientists say the future could be different. Nature might not be able to rebound so quickly. The reason: the human factor.
- Between 2004 and 2005, “we've basically demolished our coastline from Galveston (Texas) to Panama City, Fla.,” said Barry Keim, the state climatologist in Louisiana.

Last year's record hurricane season didn't just change life for humans. It changed nature, too.

Everywhere scientists look, they see disrupted patterns in and along the Gulf of Mexico. Coral reefs, flocks of sea birds, crab- and shrimp-filled meadows and dune-crowned beaches were wrapped up in — and altered by — the force of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Dennis.

“Nothing's been like this,” said Abby Sallenger, a U.S. Geological Survey oceanographer, during a recent flight over the northern Gulf Coast to study shoreline changes.

For him, the changes are mind-boggling: Some barrier islands are nearly gone; on others, beaches are scattered like bags of dropped flour.

Hurricanes have been kneading the Gulf Coast like putty for eons, carving out inlets and bays, creating beaches and altering plant and animal life — but until now, the natural world has largely been able to rebound. Trees, marine life and shoreline features that tourists and anglers enjoyed in recent years were largely the same types as those that 17th-century buccaneers and explorers encountered.

But scientists say the future could be different. Nature might not be able to rebound so quickly. The reason: the human factor.

“Natural systems are resilient and bounce back,” said Susan Cutter, a geographer with the University of South Carolina. “The problem is when we try to control nature rather than letting her do what she does.”

The seas are rising, the planet is getting hotter, and commercial and residential development is snowballing. Add those factors to a predicted increase in nasty hurricanes and the result is a recipe for potentially serious natural degradation, some say.

“It may bring about a situation (in which) the change is so rapid, it's something that's very different from what the ecosystem experienced over the last three, four thousand years,” said Kam-biu Liu, a Louisiana State University professor and hurricane paleoscientist. “We may be losing part of our beaches, we may lose our coastal wetlands, and our coastal forests may change permanently to a different kind of ecosystem.”

Between 2004 and 2005, “we've basically demolished our coastline from Galveston (Texas) to Panama City, Fla.,” said Barry Keim, the state climatologist in Louisiana. “It's getting to the point that we might have to rethink what our coastal map looks like.”

Surveys of the washed out Chandeleur Islands, an arc of barrier islands off the coast of Louisiana, found nesting grounds for brown pelicans, royal terns, sandwich terns and black skimmers gone.

“Hopefully the birds will be resilient enough to move to other areas,” said Tom Hess, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “We will have to see.”

Salt water spread by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita killed marsh grasses across the Louisiana coast, leaving little to eat for Louisiana's most hunted bird — the duck.

Katrina and Rita didn't only kill plants. They annihilated more than 100 square miles of wetlands in Louisiana alone, scattering huge chunks of soft marshy earth.

A lot of things are happening under the water, too.

With their towering waves — well over 50 feet high during Katrina — hurricanes move huge volumes of mud and sediment on the ocean bottom, burying clam and oyster beds and seagrass meadows where crabs, shrimps and fish hide and feed. Can the sea plants spring back?

“It depends on the light penetration, how deep they are buried, and factors like that,” said John Dindo, a marine scientist and assistant director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama.

Farther out, where the continental shelf drops off, the wild seas kicked up by the hurricanes damaged the Gulf's coral reefs.

Coral reefs are resilient, for the most part, but like much else in nature along the Gulf Coast they could be devastated by an onslaught of powerful hurricanes and warming seas. A coral reef near Jamaica, for example, was wiped out by Hurricane Allen in 1980, Schmahl said.

“If they're hit continually with a whole variety of stressors they may not be able to recover, and that's the big concern right now,” he said.

“Most of the marsh where that salt water sat for a long time looks dead. It looks like it is does extremely late in the winter and you've had several extreme frosts,” said Robert Helm, a state waterfowl biologist. “Where we found birds, they seemed to be concentrated in the habitat that was not impacted by the storm.”

The Gulf, scientists say, won't turn into an environmental wasteland, but it could be less rich in flora and fauna.

Duck hunters ask themselves: If Louisiana's abundant wetlands keep getting knocked out, will the ducks head to greener fields?

“You don't go to the restaurant, find it empty, and hang around,” said Charlie Smith, a duck hunter.

Among fish, species shift locations when runoff from towns, septic systems and farms causes algae blooms or storms change salinity levels in coastal bays and channels. Still, not all changes are detrimental: When Gulf commercial and recreational fishermen are knocked out of the water in storms, overfished species like the red snapper get some breathing room.

Nor are the effects confined to the water or the shoreline. Go inland, and millions of trees — cypress, gum, pine, oak — were snapped like toothpicks. Wild fires fueled by fallen timber break out and kill even more trees. And plant diseases like citrus canker and soybean rust can be spread by hurricanes from one region to the next.

The Gulf is in the midst of flux — heavily developed, heavily fished and buffeted by climate change and storms. It's becoming a perfect place for oceanographers, marine biologists, geologists and geographers to study, said Steven F. DiMarco, an ocean researcher Texas A&M University.

“I think,” he said, “people are looking to the Gulf of Mexico ever more as a microcosm of the world.”

“The hurricanes may have changed habitat in ways that we have not even begun to assess,” said Harriet Perry, a fishery expert with the University of Southern Mississippi.

After Rita's 30-plus-foot waves, surveys of the coral at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana and Texas showed damage to about 5 percent of the reef. Brain and star coral was toppled and smashed into other coral heads. About 3 feet of sand was dispersed on sand flats in the reef where trigger fish and queen conch burrow and nest.

Also, a large plume of contaminated runoff from the mainland's towns and industries befouled the reef for a couple of days, said G.P. Schmahl, the sanctuary's manager.

Link to Reference: Larry Wheeler, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE, 1/29/06

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Highlights:
- More disasters of Hurricane Katrina-proportions are certain because the United States has no policy to control growth in danger zones at the water's edge.
- The number of Americans living near the shore increased by 23.6 million between 1980 and 2005
- concluded many coastal watersheds may trip from healthy to damaged over the next two decades unless coast communities adopt growth policies that slow land consumption and minimize polluted runoff from impervious surfaces.


More disasters of Hurricane Katrina-proportions are certain because the United States has no policy to control growth in danger zones at the water's edge.

In a single generation, a slow-moving crisis has developed as land along the nation's fragile coasts has been gobbled up, concentrating wealth at the shore and putting at risk millions of people and property valued in the billions.

Dense development
The number of Americans living near the shore increased by 23.6 million between 1980 and 2005, according to a Gannett News Service analysis of population trends in counties nearest the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. From the air, the footprint of coastal sprawl is unmistakable -- vast tracts of newly built houses stretch for miles. Ribbons of asphalt are crowded with shopping centers, gas stations, restaurants and other buildings.

If runaway land consumption and relentless growth in automobile use continue, many healthy shore communities could face sharp declines over the next 25 years, says Dana Beach, director of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and an authority on coastal sprawl. He is especially concerned about developing and paving over land that drains into nearby bodies of water.

Beach authored a report for the Pew Oceans Commission that concluded many coastal watersheds may trip from healthy to damaged over the next two decades unless coast communities adopt growth policies that slow land consumption and minimize polluted runoff from impervious surfaces.

"Part of the dilemma is that there is vast ignorance across the country about ecology," Beach said. "When we modify watersheds (with roads and buildings), we are changing the physical attributes, the biological attributes of the water bodies embedded in those watersheds."

Concerns about Charleston's rapid pace of growth brought more than 100 local residents to a town council meeting one November evening in nearby Mount Pleasant.

Many spoke passionately against a town annexation proposal that could have opened the door to new homes, roads and shopping centers at the entrance to the region's ecological crown jewel -- the Francis Marion National Forest.

"Money isn't everything," said Kathie Livingston, an eco-tourism operator who lives in a small community inside the forest boundaries. "Any more annexation will be detrimental to the environment."

In some coastal areas, especially the urbanized mid-Atlantic, the Northeast and the Rust Belt states bordering the Great Lakes, much waterfront land is covered with roads, parking lots and rooftops -- all impervious surfaces.

Once more than 10 percent of the acreage of a watershed is no longer porous, creeks, rivers, streams and other water bodies seriously degrade, said Beach.

Runoff from parking lots and roads harm coastal waters by adding silt and debris that smother plants, promote algae growth and alter the habitat so it can no longer support fish, crabs and other creatures.

Coastal sprawl is consuming land far faster than the underlying rate of population growth, Beach said.

"It should be a warning sign," he said. "It ought to inspire us to do something."

For the most part, local governments control land-use decisions and are constantly forced to choose between the rights of property owners who want maximum value for their land and other community voices calling for restraint.

Paul Riddick, a funeral home owner and city councilman, said growth has been good for Norfolk, Va., a historic Navy town.

"Norfolk is going through its second phase of urban renewal," said Riddick, a lifelong resident of the city and former president of the Norfolk Branch of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "We have so many condos being built that you can't imagine it."

Indeed, gritty bars and cheap garden apartments are rapidly giving way to award-winning seaside developments with big-city price tags.

Change carries a price. "We're seeing a lot of whites coming into certain communities that once were white, changed to black and now they are changing back again," said Riddick, who was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the city school board to prevent the return of segregated elementary schools.

Norfolk officials say they plan to spearhead construction of low-cost homes for working-class families.

Damaging estuaries

Most coastal communities recognize their bays and estuaries are in severe decline after decades of growth have eliminated sensitive wetlands and polluted the waters.

The 3,000-square-mile Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" off the Texas-Louisiana coast is well-known. Aquatic life there has perished. Spawning has halted.

Texas officials are trying to prevent further loss of habitat by limiting development along the 367-mile coast, through state and federal coastal and wetland protection programs, according to the state's Center for Policy Studies and Environmental Defense.

In the mid-Atlantic, the Chesapeake Bay has been plagued by problems.

In November, regional leaders agreed to pursue state and federal regulations that would require farmers to handle their animal feed and waste in a more environmentally sensitive way.

"This year has been a turning point for the Chesapeake Bay," said Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell. He also is the chairman of the Chesapeake Executive Council.

The group's goal: to get the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the Chesapeake and its tributaries from the agency's list of impaired waters by 2010.

Hazardous bacterial contamination caused more than 20,000 closings and health advisory days at beaches across the country in 2004, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council's most recent report.

That's the most since the environmental group began tracking the problem 15 years ago, said Nancy Stoner, director of the council's Clean Water Project, although some of the increase is due to greater monitoring.

Patchwork of programs

The federal government has a patchwork of regulations and agencies that focus on pollution, flood control, the environment and growth patterns.

Some federal efforts like the National Flood Insurance Program and beach restoration projects run by the Army Corps of Engineers contribute to the growth of waterfront communities.

The value of property covered by the flood program is $555 billion, more than five times what it was 25 years ago. It generates approximately $2 billion in annual revenues, mostly from premium payments.

Hurricane Katrina demonstrated how a single disaster can overwhelm the flood program.

The federal government's lead agency on ocean and coastal issues now offers programs to help shore communities learn about the natural disasters that threaten them so they can make smarter decisions about future growth.

However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's budget has remained relatively flat since 2000, limiting the reach of its small teams of coastal specialists. The agency's budget for the current year is $3.86 billion, down 4 percent from 2005.

Nevertheless, NOAA has teamed up with experts at the Environmental Protection Agency to address the problem.

Natives displaced

Many beach communities have evolved into playgrounds for the wealthy, creating a new underclass of workers who can't afford to live in the areas.

Karen Krafft, a single mother with two children, is typical.

She can barely make ends meet living in Nags Head, N.C. She works as a credit counselor. Her annual salary is $25,000. On summer weekends she cleans vacation homes for extra money.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a positive outlook on the Outer Banks because it is such a struggle," Krafft said. "It's beautiful here and I'm fortunate to live near my family. But I work seven days a week."

Krafft's story is not unusual, said Charles Colgan, chief economist for NOAA's National Ocean Economics Program.

Colgan has traced the roots of America's love affair with the coast to the economic boom the nation enjoyed following World War II.

"The bulk of the growth in coastal areas came about as a result of a wealthier society that has a very high taste for the ocean," Colgan said.

Solutions await action

In its final report, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy made more than 200 recommendations to highlight coastal issues and coordinate 11 Cabinet-level departments and four independent agencies that oversee some portion of the nation's ocean and coastal policy.

The ambitious agenda has received little attention from the White House or Congress.

President Bush partially followed one recommendation and formed a Cabinet-level Committee on Ocean Policy, which mostly serves as a clearinghouse for information on existing programs.

"The jury is still out," said the commission's Watkins, who has formed an interest group to continue pressuring Congress and the administration.

"The oceans are no longer the eternal cesspool for mankind. They can't handle it anymore."