Fontana leaks on the levees

Staff Writer

The executive attorney representing Save Our Wetlands Inc. Luke Fontana sent a notice of intent to sue to Gov. Kathleen Blanco and others regarding the Morganza to the Gulf project.

“The state is going to commit a billion dollars toward a levee system, which is a failure,” said Fontana.

The notice of intent to sue uses a letter written and signed by a group of scientists and engineers criticizing the project, which was mailed out on March 13. The group numbers 16 and includes professors from universities like LSU, Loyola and ULL.

Fontana said Save Our Wetlands isn’t saying the project doesn’t work. It’s saying the scientists in the letter are saying it doesn’t work.

Fontana said the “leaky” levee system proposed in the Morganza project is largely untested with the exception of the system in place in the Bayou Sauvage area in New Orleans East, where it’s been a failure.

“What we’re feeling is that the state coastal protection and restoration authority set up by the governor after Katrina is completely weighed in favor of this Morganza ‘leaky’ levee proposal that the scientists are telling us isn’t going to work,” said Fontana. “It’s going to destroy wetlands and act as a hurricane buffer. And the state is going to commit a billion dollars to surround us with these earthen ‘leaky’ levees that don’t work, rather than possibly taking a real hard look at our needs to protect us from hurricane surges by coastal restoration.”

Fontana and SOWL wants the state to reconsider the Morganza project and look at alternatives, believing the linear levee system with its environmental gateways will neither preserve wetlands nor prevent storm surge.

For example, Fontana said the state should be pushing the oil companies to fill in the 10,000 miles of oil company canals that have devastated the state and caused flooding and surging.

“This is what the state coastal protection and restoration authority should be doing. It should be demanding the oil companies fill in the 10,000 miles of canals and navigational channels,” said Fontana. “We need a politician that will stand up against the oil companies and make them pay their dues for the damage they’ve done to us.”

He said the oil companies are so powerful in the politics of the state, he and his group couldn’t even get a study on the oil company canal problem to pass through the Senate committee.

Another option Fontana mentioned was the successful use of treated sewage for restoring wetlands in Hammond.

“That’s another thing that should be looked into as a possibility of restoring our coastal zone. And I’m not saying it’s a silver bullet. And I’m not saying dumping raw sewage in wetlands, either,” said Fontana. “But you don’t hear that from the state coastal protection and restoration authority. What do you hear from them? Morganza. We need Morganza.”

Sen. Butch Gautreaux, D-Morgan City, said filling in the canals would help, but defended Morganza, pointing out the fact every project goes through an environmental impact study.

“Frankly, levee building, in some respects, is anti-environmental. But what do we do? Do we go home or go to Shreveport?,” said Gautreaux. “I have a lot of respect for environmental organizations, but, you know, people come first.

Rep. Damon J. Baldone, D-Houma has a similar point of view.

“I’m an environmentalist to the core. I think we need to protect our coastal marshes and our environment,” said Baldone. “There will be a very minimal impact with the Morganza levee, but it’s going to save hundreds of thousands of acres, plus allow for fresh water diversion from the Houma Navigation Canal.”

Baldone said he is also definitely for building up the barrier islands, their height and width, as well as narrowing the passes to limit the amount of storm surge rushing into them.

Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez, D-Morgan City, said her constituents will benefit more from the coastal restoration projects than Morganza, but she still sees an immediate need for the project.

“It’s a much needed, warranted project,” said Dartez.

Fontana still believes the people of Houma and Terrebonne Parish are being lied to by state authorities and the scientists and engineers in the letter are the indisputable experts on the project.

“I think the people of Terrebonne and the people of Houma are being lied to by the state of Louisiana authorities,” said Fontana.

He said up to this last session of congress, the Bush administration wasn’t onboard with the Morganza project, but U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-La., was able to pull some strings with the administration to get the money for the project.

“As far as the Corps of Engineers is concerned, Save Our Wetlands has been around since 1974, and the Corps of Engineers is not to be trusted or believed. And also, we will say our experience with levee districts in general is the same. They’re not to be trusted or believed,” said Fontana.

He said SOWL asked for a special grand jury against the Army Corps of Engineers back in 1975 and if they had gotten it, New Orleans probably wouldn’t have been flooded today.

Critics of SOWL have argued the contrary.

“They’re [the Army Corps of Engineers] out to spend money. They have not protected us here in New Orleans and they’re not going to protect the people in Terrebonne and Houma,” said Fontana.