Here & There Column 9-25-07

Is Political Bureaucracy The Answer For Flood Relief?

How many studies and millions of dollars are needed to bring relief from overflowing creeks and rivers, washed out roads, damaged homes and businesses' and loss of life?
Sometimes you just feel like crying out "enough is enough do something positive and do it now."
Top officials of the US Army Corps of Engineers toured Sullivan and Delaware County sites September 12 and following the tour said a major flood study is needed.
There is a list of politicians and others a mile long that continue to call for study after study but is there any real relief at the end of the rainbow?
Federal officials following the tour of Hancock and the Sullivan County Town of Rockland said the creek systems can be fixed.
The Feds say they are looking at things like restoring flood plains to absorb the water going downstream and that they want to buy out properties that have had habitual damages........this sound logical and one would think that they have had enough time to get right on the job and get done what has to be done.
After every tragic flood the first statement out of the bureaucracy is "we will have to do a study on this."
John Woodley Jr., the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, a top advisor to President Bush, said following the tour, "we have the tools, we need to study the problem, line up the alternatives, do the cost-benefit analysis that leads to a decision, and then present it to Congress and the administration."
Woodley said the Feds "need to respond to mitigate the risk of flood for these counties."
And here comes the clinker.....before these counties get a federal engineering project the Corps of Engineers must first do a study that identifies the causes of the floods......another clinker is that the Corps also must come up with a cost-benefit analysis to determine if is is worth it to invest millions of dollars to do a flood mitigation project.
What if the Feds say it's not worth it?
Oh yes........this is a real possibility and one that could dash the hopes of all those who have placed their expectations on something really getting done.
For the many who have lost so much in these floods and for the many that still live in flood prone areas there is no quick relief in sight and the call for another study that could take years to complete just doesn't cut the mustard.
We just don't place any confidence in additional studies and honestly feel there are solutions to these problems right now.