Levee slumps 6 ft overnight

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CajunMama
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Levee slumps 6 ft overnight

#1 Postby CajunMama » Tue May 30, 2006 11:25 pm

Levee slumps 6 ft overnight

Posted: May 30, 2006 04:54 PM CDT

BURAS, La. (AP) - The Army Corps of Engineers says a 400-foot section of earthen hurricane protection levee being rebuilt in Plaquemines Parish slumped by more than six feet overnight Saturday, and repairs could take three to six weeks.

Corps spokesman Jim Taylor said the levee section seemed to twist in place, losing six-and-a-half feet of height at its top.The levee had been raised to 15 feet by Saturday, and was scheduled to be raised to 17-and-a-half feet by Thursday, the beginning of hurricane season.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the corps has spent more than 700 (m) million dollars to restore 169 miles of devastated hurricane levees, flood-walls and gates in the New Orleans area. But Taylor says the speed in restoring hurricane protection has resulted in the levees often being raised to pre-Katrina standards before samples of soils beneath them are analyzed and returned to the corps.

When the results show problems, he said corps engineers and contractors have moved quickly to repair problem areas. Taylor says Corps engineers already were concerned with the Buras section, after test results received last week showed the underlying soil was weaker than other tests indicated before construction began.

He says engineers were looking at ways to compensate for the softer soils when the slumping occurred.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4966555[/b]
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#2 Postby HurryKane » Wed May 31, 2006 2:40 am

Oh dear.
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#3 Postby TSmith274 » Wed May 31, 2006 3:07 am

I'm tellin you, they knew this kinda stuff was happening before this. I was down there last week and I took the river road back through Buras on my way back to New Orleans. I noticed another low spot, so I pulled over, got out and walked up to the top of the levee. What do I see? I guy on a backhoe pulling mud out of the river and spreading it all over the levee. Not sure if this is the same spot that was reported. I didn't think anything of it until this story.

Those people down there are in trouble, and I just started rebuilding my place down there. Thankfully it's not my primary home, but this is ridiculous. Once again, soil borings were faulty, studied incorrectly, or contradicted by earlier studies. This is the same problem that the breached levees had in New Orleans, you may remember.

I have never been more convinced of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers incompentence than I am right now. They are making the same mistakes. I can only hope and pray that Louisiana gets it's oil royalties so that we can go out and hire world-renown engineers and contractors to build our entire levee system over again instead of these Army engineers who couldn't get a job at a real engineering firm. I'm sorry, but I'm mad about this.
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#4 Postby beachbum_al » Wed May 31, 2006 8:02 am

That is scary! :cry:
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#5 Postby CajunMama » Wed May 31, 2006 10:20 am

TSmith...when you get your camp rebuilt we need to have a S2k bbq, crawfish/crab/shrimp boil or just a good ol' card game down at your camp :wink:
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#6 Postby MiamiensisWx » Wed May 31, 2006 11:09 am

This is not good. Something REALLY needs to be fixed. Also, why haven't I seen much action on coastal restoration yet by local official experts? Sorry if it isn't true, but I am wondering why.
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#7 Postby Stephanie » Wed May 31, 2006 11:56 am

They don't just have the levees "sitting" on the soil do they without other structural support? I would've thought that they would've had columns sunk into the soil and then the levees built around them. That is a scary thought!

It reminds me of about two years ago when a tanker had a hole ripped on the bottom of the ship in the Delaware River, spilling tons of oil. The hole was from a @#!&)! anchor that was sitting on the bottom of the river. The Army Corp of Engineers had NO IDEA that it was there! :roll:
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#8 Postby CajunMama » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:30 am

CapeVerdeWave wrote:This is not good. Something REALLY needs to be fixed. Also, why haven't I seen much action on coastal restoration yet by local official experts? Sorry if it isn't true, but I am wondering why.


Because we don't have the money that should be going to the state of louisiana from oil & gas revenues. Thank our federal government for that.
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#9 Postby stormcrow » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:02 am

The reason you don't have the oil and gas money is the politicians of the time, rejecting an offer from the feds, suing for 100% and losing. In spite of the massive errors of the feds, Lousianas greatest enemy is it's own broken political system.
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#10 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:58 pm

Stormcrow, is it that you once lived in Louisiana and just hate it, or that you Canadians seem to know so much more about what's going on down here than we do? It appears to me you never miss an opportunity to take a swipe at us, and/or blame the problem entirely on the locals.

The reason you don't have the oil and gas money is the politicians of the time, rejecting an offer from the feds, suing for 100% and losing. In spite of the massive errors of the feds, Lousianas greatest enemy is it's own broken political system.


This is a gross oversimplification of a problem that ALL "coastal" states share; but one would never know it to see or read your post. The following, however, is FACT:

Louisiana is fighting an uphill battle to get more federal money to save coastal wetlands that are disappearing from the state at the rate of 24 square miles every year, partly due to the impact of oil and gas production in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

Blanco is writing to governors in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Alaska, asking them to join a coalition of states seeking a "fair share" of the billions of dollars in royalties that flow to the federal, her coastal aide Sidney Coffee said Monday.

A 10-percent share of the federal mineral royalties could produce a steam of about $300 million a year to help restore the Louisiana coastline, which is the largest delta region left in North America, although its disappearing at a rapid rate.

Fifty percent of the royalties from oil and gas production on public lands in the United States, principally in the West, have gone to state governments for years, helping finance their annual budgets on a regular basis. States supporting offshore drilling receive little or nothing in comparison.

"Our states provide the nation with its offshore oil and gas supply and play a key role in this country's economic and energy security," said Blanco in a letter to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "Like all other coastal producing states, Louisiana is proud to contribute to the energy needs of this great nation. There are costs, however, that go along with the national benefits we provide. But these are costs too great for any one state to bear alone -- costs to our environment and costs to maintain onshore infrastructure that supports offshore energy activities."

The coastal producing states are interested only in royalties from drilling in federally controlled waters in the outer continental shelf off the shores of their states. Blanco is proposed a cut of about 10 percent of the royalties, far from the 50 percent that goes to state's with drilling on federal lands.

Although Louisiana officials say they have always tried to work with other coastal producing states for a share of the royalties, they are now making a more aggressive effort to court states like Texas to increase their political in Washington.

Louisiana has been fighting an uphill battle with its plan for a $14 billion coastal restoration program over the next 30 years, partially funded by the federal government. It competes against numerous other priorities in Washington, as well as growing federal deficits.

The federal government is reluctant to give up a steady source of billions of dollars of revenues from the oil and gas operations in the federal waters in the Gulf. The challenge facing the producing states may get even more daunting next year with tighter dollars in Washington.

Louisiana and other coastal producing states argue, however, that the federal government owes them for the oil and gas they provide for the entire nation. Eighteen percent of the nation's oil and 24 percent of its gas production comes from coastal Louisiana.
More than $7.5 billion in offshore revenues went into the federal treasury in 2002, according to Blanco. In that same year, Wyoming and New Mexico together received about $800 million, or 50 percent of the royalties from production on federal lands in those states while coastal states received a fraction of a percent of the billions produced off their shores.

In her letter to Perry, Blanco suggested that states like Louisiana and Texas should receive 10 percent of the royalties.

"Every coastal state that serves our country by hosting offshore oil and gas production must deal with the impacts of that activity and the impacts and needs are as unique as their individual coastlines," she wrote. "By banding together, we can make a powerful case to the Congress that it is time for the nation to compensate us for the costs of oil and gas exploration off our shores."

Blanco said she would like to make their case before congressional committees when governors will be in Washington for the National Governors' Association meeting in February. She also wants the governors of producing states to meet with President George W. Bush, a former Texas governor and oilman who has seen the oil business from both sides.

Louisiana restoration advocates also believe the federal government has responsibility for the loss of wetlands because of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers levees on the Mississippi River that cut off vital nutrients and sediment to the marshes and bayous.

Charles Groat, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, has compared the loss of the Louisiana wetlands to the environmental crisis that faced the Florida Everglades and mid-Atlantic Chesapeake Bay, both of which received federal aid.

And from Senator Mary Landrieu:

The Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920 shares with states 50 percent of revenues from mineral production on federal lands within each state's boundaries. These funds are distributed to states automatically, outside the budget process and not subject to appropriations. But there is no similar provision for coastal producing states to share federal oil and gas revenues generated on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

In light of the OCS' vital contribution to our nation's energy, economic and national security needs, we should return a share of these revenues to the few states that sustain this critical energy supply. In this regard, Louisiana and other coastal producing states are no different than states producing onshore. They each serve as the platforms that support basic elements of our daily lives - turning on our lights, heating our homes and running our commuter trains.

In supporting the production and transportation of 80 percent of our nation's offshore oil supply, Louisiana's coast has a tremendous national impact. Though Hurricane Katrina struck our shores more than four months ago, its impact on the price and supply of oil and gas in the United States can still be felt today. Louisiana's coast is truly America's Wetland - and America faces a national emergency.

Coastal erosion in Louisiana presents a direct threat to our national security and the global economy, and we must meet this threat with the same vigor we would anything else that endangered our homeland to such a potentially devastating ends. Returning a portion of OCS revenues to Louisiana and other coastal producing states is a crucial first step to restoring and preserving our vital wetlands and the billions of dollars in energy investments they protect.

Every year, inshore states keep half of the royalties they create from oil and gas drilling on their federal lands. This year, Wyoming is expected to receive $1.3 billion as their fair share of royalties. If Louisiana were able to keep our fair share of OCS revenues, we would be able to finance the greatest hurricane protection system in the world. That is why this March, I introduced the Gulf Coast Protection Act, which provides coastal, energy producing states with 50 percent of the federal revenue generated by energy production off their coasts on the OCS. This funding would be dedicated to increased coastal hurricane protection, including stronger levees and comprehensive coastal restoration for all of southern Louisiana.

It is long past time for the federal government to make a full-fledged commitment to coastal protection and restoration. As such, I and the entire Louisiana delegation are using every avenue available to leverage the federal support we need. We came one step closer to achieving out goal when I cast the deciding vote in favor of the FY 2007 Budget Resolution, after a $10 billion reserve fund from excess federal revenue was created to help coastal states meet their restoration and protection needs. The excess revenue will come from three areas: future revenue from offshore energy production that is not currently part of the federal budget; a significant portion of the federal share of revenue from energy production in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), upon future passage by the U.S. Congress; and a portion of revenues that exceed the current projection for television spectrum auctions.

Through their devastating effects, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita illustrated the importance of the Gulf Coast as the nation's Energy Coast. While we debate how recovery and rebuilding efforts for the region will be funded, I have and will continue to promote OCS Revenue Sharing as a method to allow these states to rebuild themselves.


The simple fact is that "inland" states have been getting 50% royalties on ALL their revenues, while coastal states like Louisiana, (who contributed to the "federal" coffers over 7 BILLION in revenues last year,) have been given NOTHING, while their coastlines disappear. This is MUCH more than a "local" problem. It's a national one that's going to bit a lot of people where it hurts if they don't wake up and realize that a state producing nearly 1/5 of their oil energy needs, and and 1/4 of their gas needs, is rapidly disappearing. For the last 20 some-odd years this has been the greed of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and its unwillingness to give back a fair share of revenues, like it does for every other state--NOT some over simplification of a litigation years ago.

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#11 Postby stormcrow » Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:38 pm

It might surprise you that I argeee with everything you said. But know your history. This is a great wrong that needs to be corrected. I will always have a special place in my heart for Lousiana. (and the Cajun food has spoiled me for life, restuarants here are so bland). The coastal errosion is a very big deal, and I have seen the maps and talked to people who care. But I have a sinking feeling that special interests will win out and nothing much will change. (the MRGO must go.) I never want to see anything like I saw in NOLA again.
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#12 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:58 pm

the MRGO must go.)


I agree with you 100% on this, and sadly have to concur that the "special interests" have already kicked in, and all the rhetoric about getting rid of this murderer in our midst looks as if its beyond any hope of realization.

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#13 Postby JonathanBelles » Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:23 pm

intead of dirt they should use steel or concrete
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#14 Postby TSmith274 » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:36 pm

Audrey2Katrina wrote:
the MRGO must go.)


I agree with you 100% on this, and sadly have to concur that the "special interests" have already kicked in, and all the rhetoric about getting rid of this murderer in our midst looks as if its beyond any hope of realization.

A2K


I wonder if there are any plans to at least temporarily close off the MRGO with sheet piling as a storm approaches. We need a plan to at least close it off temporarily.
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#15 Postby GalvestonDuck » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:44 pm

Please remember to cite your sources if you copy and paste from another site.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/2 ... -8457r.htm

http://landrieu.senate.gov/issues/coast.cfm
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#16 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:00 pm

GalvestonDuck wrote:Please remember to cite your sources if you copy and paste from another site.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/2 ... -8457r.htm

http://landrieu.senate.gov/issues/coast.cfm


I did cite that the second was from Mary Landrieu, just didn't post the link. The first wasn't from the Washington Times though I don't doubt the blog I got it from may have. In either case, point well taken.

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#17 Postby Dionne » Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:08 am

fact789 wrote:intead of dirt they should use steel or concrete



You need good soils to support steel and concrete. Even if you did have good compaction of soils it wouldn't matter in the case of Katrina. Thinking that we can control storm surges with monster storms in the northern GOM is not possible.

In Waveland the water went all the way to I-10......which is about 7 miles inland.
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#18 Postby TSmith274 » Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:21 pm

Dionne wrote:Thinking that we can control storm surges with monster storms in the northern GOM is not possible.


We'll see about that. I'd agree that it would be difficult if not impossible in an area like the MGC. However, it is possible, in my opinion, to protect New Orleans from such surges. We have a lot more to work with... marshes and 60-90 miles of land below us. If we can restore the coast below us and construct that first cat 5 ring, and build the seawall at the Rigolets, we'll be fine, no matter what. Even if the outer ring breaks in a spot or two 40 miles south of New Orleans, it will be negligible. Our system would be multi-layered and almost surge proof. You ought to see the preliminary plans for this thing. Engineers say, if it happens, it would be the largest project ever undertaken in the history of mankind. And you can bet the Army Corp WILL NOT be building any of this. I think Louisiana is up to it. We were blessed with a huge supply of natural resources. It's time we start benefiting from it. 2-3 billion per year goes a long way(at the end of the term). When Louisiana gets its royalties from oil and gas, we will build it because our very existance depends upon it. And perhaps we'll look back on this time in our history, recalling the naysayers with a smile.
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#19 Postby mempho » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:21 pm

Plaquemines is going to be very tough to save in the end.
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#20 Postby TSmith274 » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:45 pm

mempho wrote:Plaquemines is going to be very tough to save in the end.

I agree. That parish is nothing but a thin sliver sticking out into the GOM. In most spots, you can see from one side of the parish to the other... river levee on one side, and the back levee on the other. And venturing out in a boat is mind-boggling. Camps that used to sit on land are now in open water. It's really a tough situation there.
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