A Fresh Approach to Recovery

Posted by The Times-Picayune editorial staff
March 08, 2009 3:30AM

The Obama administration inherited the Gulf Coast in mid-recovery and at a point when many of us are completely frustrated with government. The distress Americans feel about job losses and declining home values is magnified here by the devastation left by broken levees and hurricane-force winds. We are fixated as a community -- understandably so -- on the question of where the rebuilding of greater New Orleans will rank in the new president's agenda.

On the administration's first post-inaugural visit, there were hopeful signs. Like so many visitors before them, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan undoubtedly benefited from seeing the ruins and rebuilding first-hand.

"I kept hearing these stories about why projects were being turned down for funding.... I thought they were apocryphal, "Ms. Napolitano said.

"What we have seen today makes us disturbed -- angry, even -- to see the numbers of families living the way they have, "Mr. Donovan said after touring parts of St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward Thursday.

He apologized, he said, to World War II veteran Larry Scurich, who is only now about to move back into his Chalmette home. Mr. Scurich talked about his love for his home of 40 years and the help he got from the nonprofit St. Bernard Project to rebuild it.

The difficulties and delays experienced by Mr. Scurich are unacceptable, Mr. Donovan said. He will find no one here to disagree with him.

Mr. Donovan and Ms. Napolitano both took the opportunity to announce federal recovery initiatives that made their visit more than a look-and-listen tour. That is smart politics.

On HUD's part, Mr. Donovan announced the agency's acceptance of Louisiana's plan for $438 million in long-term disaster aid for Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. He also unveiled a plan to spend $50 million for long-term housing assistance for 1,000 homeless families and $23 million for the Louisiana Recovery Authority in rental assistance for 2,000 elderly residents.

Ms. Napolitano announced that FEMA, which is part of her department, will cover the rebuilding of the 5th and 7th District police stations and a firehouse in eastern New Orleans. The agency also will provide $12 million for St. Bernard Parish's wastewater treatment plant and $2.9 million for final repairs to Ben Franklin High School in New Orleans. Also, FEMA's relocation assistance program is being extended to May 1.

President Obama also chose the new director of FEMA Wednesday and sent him along on the trip to Louisiana. Craig Fugate, who headed Florida's emergency management operations during the eight hurricanes that struck the state in 2004 and 2005, gets positive reviews from his home state. And having a FEMA director who understands the mess made by hurricanes ought to give Louisianians comfort.

Better yet, if the Obama administration can cut through the bureaucratic impediments holding back $4 billion in recovery aid, it will endear itself to thousands of disaster victims weary from the wait.

HUD's challenge is to get the rebuilding of public housing and affordable housing on track in New Orleans. The economic downturn makes that problematic, but Mr. Donovan said that the replacement of the so-called Big Four housing developments is at the top of his priority list.

Ms. Napolitano has a thornier job -- breaking the impasse between FEMA and area officials over how much the federal government will pay toward rebuilding damaged public property. There is a $1.6 billion dispute that is holding up $4 billion in recovery work.

She is setting up two teams to expedite the flow of money -- one in Baton Rouge that will work with state officials and another within FEMA. Their approach should be simple: be fair, be logical and be flexible. They need to look for ways to solve disagreements, not reasons to say "no."

Mr. Donovan and Ms. Napolitano possess a refreshing optimism about what their agencies can accomplish here. "We pledge to you our partnership for a new beginning in New Orleans and across the Gulf, "Mr. Donovan said.

The proof will come with time. But the attitude is certainly appreciated.