FEMA should pull its $2 billion back from New Orleans, govt watchdog says
July 26, 2017
A massive, $2.04 billion accord that the Federal Emergency Management Agency struck to rebuild New Orleans' hurricane-damaged infrastructure was in jeopardy Wednesday (July 26) after a federal audit accused FEMA of improperly reaching the landmark deal in 2015.
The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said FEMA had erred when it signed off on the reimbursement plan because New Orleans hadn't provided a full account of the conditions of its street, water, sewerage and drainage systems before hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
Therefore, FEMA couldn't differentiate between storm damage and pre-existing damage, according to the audit, which instructs FEMA to rescind the agreement and claw back whatever money has been spent.
The audit "defies logic," Zach Butterworth, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's executive counsel and liaison to the federal government, said Wednesday. "We're just going to push back very strongly against this."
..... "The IG disagrees with FEMA. It's not a legal dispute. It wasn't a dispute that a process wasn't followed or that something improper occurred," Butterworth said. "They just said New Orleans should have had more records. We had to rebuild the buildings where the documents were kept."
FEMA has the option to ignore the report. The agency released a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying it "did not concur with the OIG recommendations."
..... In historic accord, FEMA to pay New Orleans $1.2 billion in extra disaster aid for streets, water pipes
Coupled with $800 million FEMA had already promised and almost $1 billion in revenue the city has collected, the money will be part of a $3 billion initial investment in the city's infrastructure,
..... It's unclear what effect the government's transition from President Barack Obama to President Donald Trump may have on the agreement. Trump has boasted of plans to invest heavily in American infrastructure projects while also threatening to withhold funds from cities his administration deems uncooperative with its hard-line immigration policies.
Earlier this year, Immigration & Customs Enforcement had identified New Orleans as one of those cities.
http://www.nola.com/national_politics/2017/07/new_orleans_-_fema_2_billion_k.html