Army Corps of Engineers: Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project
Published: 2005-09-28T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The greatest natural threat posed to the New Orleans area is from hurricane-induced storm surges, waves, and rainfalls. A hurricane surge that can inundate coastal lowlands is the most destructive characteristic of hurricanes and accounts for most of the lives lost from hurricanes. Hurricane surge heights along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts can exceed 20 feet. The effects of Hurricane Katrina flooded a large part of New Orleans and breached the levees that are part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Lake Pontchartrain, and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project. This project, first authorized in 1965, was designed to protect the lowlands in the Lake Pontchartrain tidal basin from flooding by hurricane-induced sea surges and rainfall. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the purpose and history of the Lake Pontchartrain, and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project and (2) funding of the project. GAO is not making any recommendations in this testimony.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Congress first authorized the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project in the Flood Control Act of 1965. The project was to construct a series of control structures, concrete floodwalls, and levees to provide hurricane protection to areas around Lake Pontchartrain. The project, when designed, was expected to take about 13 years to complete and cost about $85 million. Although federally authorized, it was a joint federal, state, and local effort. The original project designs were developed based on the equivalent of what is now called a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane that might strike the coastal Louisiana region once in 200-300 years. As GAO reported in 1976 and 1982, since the beginning of the project, the Corps has encountered project delays and cost increases due to design changes caused by technical issues, environmental concerns, legal challenges, and local opposition to portions of the project. As a result, in 1982, project costs had grown to $757 million and the expected completion date had slipped to 2008. None of the changes made to the project, however, are believed to have had any role in the levee breaches recently experienced as the alternative design selected was expected to provide the same level of protection. In fact, Corps officials believe that flooding would have been worse if the original proposed design had been built. When Hurricane Katrina struck, the project, including about 125 miles of levees, was estimated to be from 60-90 percent complete in different areas with an estimated completion date for the whole project of 2015. The floodwalls along the drainage canals that were breached were complete when the hurricane hit. The current estimated cost of construction for the completed project is $738 million with the federal share being $528 million and the local share $210 million. Federal allocations for the project were $458 million as of the enactment of the fiscal year 2005 federal appropriation. This represents 87 percent of the federal government's responsibility of $528 million with about $70 million remaining to complete the project. Over the last 10 fiscal years (1996-2005), federal appropriations have totaled about $128.6 million and Corps reprogramming actions resulted in another $13 million being made available to the project. During that time, appropriations have generally declined from about $15-20 million annually in the earlier years to about $5-7 million in the last three fiscal years. While this may not be unusual given the state of completion of the project, the Corps' project fact sheet from May 2005 noted that the President's budget request for fiscal years 2005 and 2006, and the appropriated amount for fiscal year 2005 were insufficient to fund new construction contracts. The Corps had also stated that it could spend $20 million in fiscal year 2006 on the project if the funds were available. The Corps noted that several levees had settled and needed to be raised to provide the level of protection intended by the design.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: We are pleased to be here today to discuss the U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers (Corps) Lake Pontchartrain, and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane  Protection Project. This project, first authorized in 1965, was designed to  protect the lowlands in the Lake Pontchartrain tidal basin within the  greater New Orleans metropolitan area from flooding by hurricane- induced sea surges and rainfall. As you know, the effects of Hurricane  Katrina breeched the levees that are part of this project and flooded a  large part of New Orleans.
In my testimony, I will discuss (1) the purpose and history of the project  and (2) funding of the project. To conduct this work, we reviewed GAO’s  past reports on the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane  Protection Project and on the Corps’ flood control efforts in general. We  interviewed Corps personnel responsible for the Lake Pontchartrain  project to obtain information on the Corps funding of the project and its  current status. We did the work reflected in this statement during  September 2005 in accordance with generally accepted government  auditing standards.
In summary, the Lake Pontchartrain hurricane project was designed to  protect areas around the lake from flooding caused by a storm surge or  rainfall associated with a standard project hurricane, which is roughly the  same as what is now classified as a fast moving Category 3 hurricane. The  project, when designed in the mid-1960s, was expected to take about 13  years to complete and cost about $85 million. Over the years, the project  has undergone some significant design changes as a result of a successful  court challenge, local opposition to certain aspects of the proposed  design, and changed Corps thinking about the most cost-effective  approach. None of these changes, however, are believed to have had any  role in the levee breaches recently experienced as the alternative design  selected was expected to provide the same level of protection. In fact,  Corps staff believes that flooding would have been worse if the original  proposed design had been built. As of early 2005, the project was not  expected to be completed until 2015—nearly 50 years after it was first  authorized—and cost about $738 million, much of the cost increase is due  to inflation over the years and changes to the scope and design of the  project. In recent years, questions have been raised about the ability of the  project to protect the New Orleans area from hurricanes greater than  Category 3. This issue was only beginning to be studied by the Corps when  Hurricane Katrina hit the area in August 2005.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Since its founding in 1718, the city of New Orleans and its surrounding  areas have been subject to numerous floods from the Mississippi River and  hurricanes. The greater New Orleans metropolitan area, composed of  Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany parishes, sits  in the tidal lowlands of Lake Pontchartrain and is bordered generally on its  southern side by the Mississippi River. Lake Pontchartrain is a tidal basin  about 640 square miles in area that connects with the Gulf of Mexico  through Lake Borgne and the Mississippi Sound.
While the area has historically experienced many river floods, a series of  levees and other flood control structures built over the years were  expected to greatly reduce that threat. The greatest natural threat posed to  the New Orleans area continues to be from hurricane-induced storm  surges, waves, and rainfalls. Several hurricanes have struck the area over  the years including Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Hurricane Camille in 1969,  and Hurricane Lili in 2002. The hurricane surge that can inundate coastal  lowlands is the most destructive characteristic of hurricanes and accounts  for most of the lives lost from hurricanes. Hurricane surge heights along  the Gulf and Atlantic coasts can range up to 20 feet or more and there is  growing concern that continuing losses of coastal wetlands and settlement  of land in New Orleans has made the area more vulnerable to such storms.  Because of such threats, a series of control structures, concrete  floodwalls, and levees, was proposed for the area along Lake  Pontchartrain in the 1960s.
section_title: Purpose and History of Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Flood Control Project
paragraphs: Congress first authorized construction of the Lake Pontchartrain and  Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project in the Flood Control Act  of 1965 to provide hurricane protection to areas around the lake in the  parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Charles. Although  federally authorized, it was a joint federal, state, and local effort with the  federal government paying 70 percent of the costs and the state and local  interests paying 30 percent. The Corps was responsible for project design  and construction and local interests were responsible for maintenance of  levees and flood controls. The original project design, known as the  barrier plan, included a series of levees along the lakefront, concrete  floodwalls along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, and control  structures, including barriers and flood control gates located at the  Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass areas. These structures were intended to  prevent storm surges from entering Lake Pontchartrain and overflowing  the levees along the lakefront. The original lakefront levees were planned  to be from 9.3 feet to 13.5 feet high depending on the topography of the  area directly in front of the levees.
This project plan was selected over another alternative, known as the  high-level plan, which excluded the barriers and flood control gates at the  Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass complexes and instead employed higher  levees ranging from 16 feet to 18.5 feet high along the lakefront to prevent  storm surges from inundating the protected areas. In the 1960s, the barrier  plan was favored because it was believed to be less expensive and quicker  to construct. As explained later in my statement, this decision was  reversed in the mid-1980s. The cost estimate for the original project was  $85 million (in 1961 dollars) and the estimated completion date was 1978.
The original project designs were developed to combat a hurricane that  might strike the coastal Louisiana region once in 200-300 years. The basis  for this was the standard project hurricane developed by the Corps with  the assistance of the United States Weather Bureau (now the National  Weather Service). The model was intended to represent the most severe  meteorological conditions considered reasonably characteristic for that  region. The model projected a storm roughly equivalent to a fast-moving  Category 3 hurricane. A Category 3 hurricane has winds of 111-130 miles  per hour and can be expected to cause some structural damage from  winds and flooding near the coast from the storm surge and inland from  rains.
Even before construction began on the project, it became evident that  some changes to the project plan were needed. Based on updated Weather  Bureau data on the severity of hurricanes, the Corps determined that the  levees along the three main drainage canals, that drain water from New  Orleans into Lake Pontchartrain, would need to be raised to protect  against storm surges from the lake. The need for this additional work  became apparent when Hurricane Betsy flooded portions of the city in  September 1965.
During the first 17 years of construction on the barrier plan, the Corps  continued to face project delays and cost increases due to design changes  caused by technical issues, environmental concerns, legal challenges, and  local opposition to various aspects of the project. For example, foundation  problems were encountered during construction of levees and floodwalls  which increased construction time; delays were also encountered in  obtaining rights-of-ways from local interests who did not agree with all  portions of the plan. By 1981, cost estimates had grown to $757 million for  the barrier plan, not including the cost of any needed work along the  drainage canals, and project completion had slipped to 2008. At that time,  about $171 million had been made available to the project and the project  was considered about 50 percent complete, mostly for the lakefront levees  which were at least partially constructed in all areas and capable of  providing some flood protection although from a smaller hurricane than  that envisioned in the plan.
More importantly, during the 1970s, some features of the barrier plan were  facing significant opposition from environmentalists and local groups who  were concerned about environmental damages to the lake as well as  inadequate protection from some aspects of the project. The threat of  litigation by environmentalists delayed the project and local opposition to  building the control complexes at Rigolets and Chef Menteur had the  potential to seriously reduce the overall protection provided by the  project. This opposition culminated in a December 1977 court decision  that enjoined the Corps from constructing the barrier complexes, and  certain other parts of the project until a revised environmental impact  statement was prepared and accepted. After the court order, the Corps  decided to change course and completed a project reevaluation report and  prepared a draft revised Environmental Impact Statement in the mid-1980s  that recommended abandoning the barrier plan and shifting to the high- level plan originally considered in the early 1960s. Local sponsors  executed new agreements to assure their share of the non-federal  contribution to the revised project. These changes are not believed to have  had any role in the levee breaches recently experienced as the high-level  design selected was expected to provide the same level of protection as  the original barrier design. In fact, Corps staff believe that flooding would  have been worse if the original proposed design had been built because  the storm surge would likely have gone over the top of the barrier and  floodgates, flooded Lake Pontchartain, and gone over the original lower  levees planned for the lakefront area as part of the barrier plan. As of  2005, the project as constructed or being constructed included about 125  miles of levees and the following major features:    New levee north of Highway U.S. 61 from the Bonnet Carré Spillway East  Guide Levee to the Jefferson-St. Charles Parish boundary   Floodwall along the Jefferson-St. Charles Parish boundary    Enlarged levee along the Jefferson Parish lakefront    Enlarged levee along the Orleans Parish lakefront    Levees, floodwalls, and flood proofed bridges along the 17th Street,  Orleans Avenue and London Avenue drainage canals    Levees from the New Orleans lakefront to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway    Enlarged levees along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi    New levee around the Chalmette area.
The project also includes a mitigation dike on the west shore of Lake  Pontchartrain.
The current estimated cost of construction for the completed project is  $738 million with the federal share being $528 million and the local share  $210 million. The estimated completion date as of May 2005 for the whole  project was 2015. The project was estimated to be from 60-90 percent  complete in different areas. The work in Orleans Parish was estimated to  be 90 percent complete with some work remaining for bridge replacement  along the Orleans Avenue and London Avenue drainage canals. The  floodwalls along the canals, where the recent breaches occurred, were  complete. Jefferson Parish work was estimated to be 70 percent complete  with work continuing on flood proofing the Hammond Highway bridge  over 17th Street and two lakefront levee enlargements. Estimated  completion for that work was 2010. In the Chalmette area work was  estimated to be 90 percent complete with some levee enlargement work  and floodwall work remaining. In St. Charles Parish work was 60 percent  complete with some gaps still remaining in the levees. Closure of these  gaps was scheduled by September 2005.
section_title: Recent Funding History for the Project
paragraphs: Federal allocations for the project totaled $458 million as of the enactment  of the fiscal year 2005 federal appropriation. This represents 87 percent of  the Federal government’s responsibility of $528 million with about $70  million remaining to complete the project in 2015. Over the last 10 fiscal  years (1996-2005), federal appropriations have totaled about $128.6 million  and Corps reprogramming actions resulted in another $13 million being  made available to the project. During that time, appropriations have  generally declined from about $15-20 million annually in the earlier years  to about $5-7 million in the last three fiscal years. While this may not be  unusual given the state of completion of the project, the Corps’ project  fact sheet from May 2005 noted that the President’s Budget request for  fiscal years 2005 and 2006 and the appropriated amount for fiscal year  2005 were insufficient to fund new construction contracts. Among the  construction efforts that could not be funded, according to the Corps,  were the following:    Levee enlargements in all four parishes    Pumping station flood protection in Orleans Parish    Floodgates and a floodwall in St. Charles Parish    Bridge replacement in Orleans Parish.
The Corps had also stated that it could spend $20 million in fiscal year  2006 on the project if the funds were available. The Corps noted that  several levees had settled and needed to be raised to provide the design- level of protection. For the last few years, the project generally received  the amount of funds appropriated to it and was not adversely affected by  any Corps reprogramming actions.
In recent years, questions have been raised about the ability of the project  to withstand larger hurricanes than it was designed for, such as a Category  4 or 5, or even a slow-moving Category 3 hurricane that lingered over the  area and produced higher levels of rainfall. Along this line, the Corps  completed in 2002 a reconnaissance or pre-feasibility study on whether to  strengthen hurricane protection along the Louisiana coast. A full feasibility  study was estimated to take at least five years to complete and cost about  $8 million. In March 2005, the Corps reported that it was allocating $79,000  to complete a management plan for the feasibility study and a cost-share  agreement with local sponsors. The President’s fiscal year 2006 budget  request did not include any funds for the feasibility project.
In closing, the Lake Pontchartrain hurricane project has been under  construction for nearly 40 years, much longer than originally envisioned  and at much greater cost, although much of that can be attributed to  inflation over these years, and the project is still not complete. Whether  the state of completion of the project played a role in the flooding of New  Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 is still to be  determined as are issues related to whether a project designed to protect  against Category 4 or 5 hurricanes would or could have prevented this  catastrophe.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared testimony. We would be happy  to respond to any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee  may have.
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further  permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or  other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to  reproduce this material separately.