>>>Our Region (6) where I work is the Region that includes Louisiana. Our response teams will be leading most of the efforts there. All of the other EPA Regions as well as staff from DC are on site as well. The Region 4 office in Atlanta, is leading coordinated efforts for Mississippi and Alabama. For better information on what we are doing:
>>>
>>>http://www.epa.gov/region6/index.htm
>>
>>What's the insiders' estimate on how many years to make NOLA healthy (livable)?
>>I am sure there are going to be all kinds of pressures from businesses to individuals to contractors, etc. to start rebuilding as soon as possible.
>>
>>I am sure if it is done correctly it would take several years (5+) to properly detox the place and at a prohibitive cost. Tradeoffs are going to be made so people are going to be allowed to rebuild and repopulate before it's safe.
>>
>>You are going to start seeing incidences of diseases a few years from now. Especially with kids and also in cancer incidents. Just watch.
>
>No estimates that I have heard. What we do have going for us is our Administrator in DC. While, yes, he is a political appointee, he is a career EPA employee who started out as an intern. So he "knows the walk." I know many of our on-scene coordinators as well as our quality assurance staff, so my confidence in our sampling capabilities and data analyses is very high.
>
>Stay positive, my friend. Environmentally, when all is said and done, New Orleans will be cleaner than it ever was. Having spent some time down there, that will definitely be a positive result from this disaster. I also think the recovery will be faster than we can imagine. There will be so much funding "flooding" to those areas, that cleanup and rebuilding will flourish. Beyond the disaster, this is a great opportunity from this point forward.

In Canada cronyism is rampant too, but generally, as you cite here, the person appointed does have some significant experience in the field of the appointment. Sounds like you have an excellent one for your department.

While I agree that staying positive is essential and that things will happen faster than seems possible now, there are some thing I hope for...

I know that you are definitely not for bigger government.
But I hope that, at minimum, the genuinely poor working folks of NO get some "pampering", and for the long term. And I hope this becomes a model for addressing the issue throughout your great country. The poorer people of Mississippi seem to be getting lousy recovery "services" too.
Now I don't mean "pampering" as in spoon-fed and infinite bank accounts replenished forever. But I do mean INCLUDED as a MEANINGFUL component of the planning and development and resurrection of NO. No longer overlooked and invisible and so easily forgotten.

I think Katrina is proof positive that disaster preparation is not something that can be contracted out. FEMA was (I have read) on that track extensively and the response we saw was a result. Apparently, too, there remain blue-tarped roofs in the communities hit by hurricanes LAST YEAR in Florida. Those should have been non-existent by now if FEMA was on the ball, it seems to me.

Finally, I don't think that the government should count on the good works of volunteer organization in their disaster relief planning and delivery. They can be accommodated in planning (to be in 'control centers', space for their (additional) supplies, etc.) but not delegated any official duties.