FEMA Is In To Candy Making

Probe: FEMA sugarcoated danger of hurricane trailers

Story Highlights

FEMA says it "did not suppress or inappropriately influence any report"

Democrats on congressional panel say FEMA "ignored, hid and manipulated" data

FEMA tests indicated trailers were safe if properly ventilated

Probe: Expert said not divulging research constituted "threat to public health"

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency manipulated scientific research to play down the danger posed by formaldehyde in trailers issued to hurricane victims, according to an investigation by congressional Democrats.

FEMA "ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde" on Katrina and Rita victims now living in FEMA trailers, said a letter written by Democrats on Monday.

Democrats on a House Science and Technology subcommittee wrote the letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.

In a separate letter, lawmakers said the federal health agency that provided guidance to FEMA was "complicit in giving FEMA precisely what they wanted."

Victims living in FEMA trailers have complained of health problems related to formaldehyde, but initial FEMA tests revealed the air quality in the trailers was safe if those trailers were properly ventilated.

Formaldehyde is a common preservative found in building materials used in manufactured homes. It can cause respiratory problems and has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

FEMA said the health agency's February 1, 2007, advice didn't address long-term health effects, but rather concerned ways to avoid toxic exposure to formaldehyde.

"FEMA did not suppress or inappropriately influence any report," said agency spokesman James McIntyre.

The lawmakers are questioning the integrity of research done by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and said they don't trust FEMA to conduct an independent investigation into the toxicity of the formaldehyde in trailers.

The investigation, led by Rep. Brad Miller, D-North Carolina, found the health agency ignored research from one of its own experts, Christopher De Rosa.

Because the health opinion was completed without appropriate oversight, the results could be misleading, De Rosa wrote in a February 27, 2007, letter to a FEMA attorney that was obtained by the subcommittee.

"Any level of exposure to formaldehyde may pose a cancer risk, regardless of duration," De Rosa wrote. "Failure to communicate this issue is possibly misleading and a threat to public health."

In its initial round of testing, FEMA took samples from unoccupied trailers that had been aired out for days and compared them with federal standards for short-term exposure, according to the lawmakers. FEMA officials instructed scientists at the health agency to leave out details about long-term exposure in its consultation.

"Honest scientific studies don't start with the conclusion, and then work backwards from there," Miller said in a statement.

FEMA is currently testing 500 of the 40,000 trailers (1%), but the lawmakers said they have no confidence in the new testing and sampling procedures.

The test results are expected in February and FEMA plans to issue a final report in May.

FEMA Air Quality Testing Issues

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=41629
11/7
FEMA is working with health and environmental experts at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct air quality assessments of temporary housing units issued after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
As part of that study, the Centers for Disease Control will oversee indoor air quality testing of randomly selected temporary housing units in Mississippi and Louisiana. Testing was to have begun the first week of November, but previously scheduled appointments have been postponed until health and environmental experts finalize the testing process and action levels for responding to the results of the testing are determined. The testing will begin once these matters have been resolved.
Meanwhile, FEMA continues to work actively with all residents to help them move them out of temporary housing units and into more permanent housing that fits their individual needs. More than one-quarter of the occupants who have asked to be relocated from travel trailer units have moved to long-term housing, and the remaining households are evaluating their housing options.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312067,00.html
11/17
NEW ORLEANS — Lawyers for a group of hurricane victims living in government-issued trailers are asking a federal judge to order the Federal Emergency Management Agency to test the housing units for hazardous fumes.
Earlier this month, FEMA postponed plans to test the air quality in its travel trailers for levels of formaldehyde. The chemical, a common preservative found in materials used to build manufactured homes, can cause respiratory illnesses and is classified as a carcinogen.
FEMA says it needs more time to prepare before scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta begin the formaldehyde tests, which were scheduled to start in Mississippi on Nov. 2.
However, attorneys for trailer occupants in Louisiana claim FEMA's delay in testing the trailers is jeopardizing the health of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
In court papers filed Friday, the trailer occupants' lawyers asked a federal judge in New Orleans to issue a preliminary injunction that would compel FEMA to begin the tests. The injunction also calls for FEMA to immediately comply with any trailer occupant's request to move out of a unit and into alternative housing.
U.S. District Judge Kurt Englehardt did not immediately rule on their requests.
"Without this Court's intervention," the storm victims' attorneys wrote, "FEMA will continue to delay and this national public health emergency will continue unabated."
FEMA spokesman Michael Widomski, who would not comment on the litigation, said a date to start the tests has not been set. "We're continuing to work with the CDC," he added.
Roy Rodney, Jr., a New Orleans-based attorney who filed the motion for an injunction, said the formaldehyde tests are a "matter of critical public health."
"It's important to understand what the level of exposure is, particularly in regard to children," he said. "Children are the most at risk, more so than adults."
In Louisiana and Mississippi, more than 48,000 FEMA trailers were occupied this month by victims of the 2005 hurricanes. Reacting to residents' health concerns, FEMA has moved hundreds of families in both states out of trailers and into apartments, hotel rooms or other temporary housing.
FEMA also has temporarily suspended the sale of its used trailers and says the units won't be used to shelter victims of future disasters until the safety concerns are resolved.
Hundreds of Gulf Coast residents are suing trailer manufacturers for allegedly providing FEMA with poorly constructed units contaminated by formaldehyde. Several of those federal lawsuits in Louisiana were consolidated on Oct. 24 and transferred to Englehardt, who scheduled a Jan. 18 initial hearing on the litigation.

YouTube Vidoe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SgirfFOQDU

8 a.m.: FEMA Ordered To Submit Air Quality Plan
December 4, 2007
NEW ORLEANS, La -- A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a detailed plan for testing the air quality in government-issued trailers in Mississippi.
U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt says FEMA and its top administrator, R. David Paulison, have until Dec. 17 to respond to court papers filed by a group of trailer occupants who want the air-quality tests to begin immediately.
On Nov. 2, federal scientists were scheduled to start testing FEMA trailers in Mississippi for levels of formaldehyde.
FEMA postponed those tests, however, saying it needed more time to prepare.
FEMA spokeswoman Mary Margaret Walker said Monday that the tests are expected to begin "soon," but she couldn't elaborate and wouldn't comment on the judge's order.

Hurricane Bush

Hurricane George: How the White House Drowned New Orleans
by Greg Palast Aug 24 2007 - 9:35am

"By midnight on Monday, the White House knew. Monday night I was at the state Emergency Operations Center and nobody was aware that the levees had breeched. Nobody."

"FEMA knew at 11 o'clock on Monday that the levees had breeched. At 2p.m. they flew over he 17th Street Canal and took video of the breech."

Question: "So the White House wouldn't tell you the levees had breeched?"

Dr. Van Heerden: "They didn't tell anybody."

Question: "And you're at the Emergency Center.'

Dr. Van Heerden: "I mean nobody knew. The Corps of Engineers knew. FEMA knew. None of us knew."

The charge is devastating: That, on August 29, 2005, the White House withheld from the state police the information that New Orleans was about to flood. From almost any other source, I would not have believed it. But this was not just any source. The whistle-blower is Dr. Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, the chief technician advising the state on saving lives during Katrina.

WHY? Why on earth would the White House not tell the state to get the remaining folks out of there?

The answer: cost. Political and financial cost. A hurricane is an act of God - but a catastrophic failure of the levees is a act of Bush. That is, under law dating back to 1935, a breech of the federal levee system makes the damage - and the deaths - a federal responsibility. That means, as van Heeden points out, that "these people must be compensated."

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/9523

Ocean Springs Closing FEMA Park

Ocean Springs FEMA park to close Aug. 15
Residents urged to find other homes
By LEIGH COLEMAN
SUN HERALD

OCEAN SPRINGS --

The more than 50 residents living in trailers behind the Ocean Springs Civic Center on U.S. 90 have until Aug. 15 to find another place to live.

Mayor Connie Moran announced Tuesday the city is planning to close the site.

The announcement was made during a meeting with FEMA representatives to discuss changes in the city's new trailer policy made earlier this year by the Board of Aldermen.

This decision comes after board members last week voted to postpone their decision to extend the Aug. 15 termination date for the closing of the trailer park.

FEMA representatives requested the board consider an extension until March 2008 but the board requested more information from FEMA and the residents living in the trailers.

"The representatives from FEMA never gave us the information we requested and we needed to make a decision about this site," said Moran.

"Of course, they can appeal the decision if they want to," she said.

According to FEMA representatives there are only 43 available apartments in Ocean Springs and they are all 125 percent above the fair-market value.

There are currently more than 90 Ocean Springs residents living in temporary trailers in Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties.

"Ocean Springs has worked actively with FEMA and other agencies to ensure that all of our citizens have a place to call home," said Moran.

"As the deadline of Aug. 15 looms, it is important that anyone affected by it make appropriate plans," she said.

Moran says the city's biggest concern is the elderly, disabled, fixed-income, and single-parent households. City officials are encouraging people in these categories to contact FEMA to see if they qualify for the department's rental-assistance program.

When $110 Billion Isn't

5 states, 3 storms slice up federal pie
Sunday, February 11, 2007
By Bill Walsh
WASHINGTON -- In the wake of the brutal 2005 hurricane season, the White House and Congress made a point of repeatedly noting that $110 billion in federal aid had been dispatched to the Gulf Coast, the most ever for a disaster. The total was widely touted as a blessing.

But as the region struggles to rebuild 18 months later, the figure has become something of a political curse, especially for Louisiana officials who say they have been consistently shortchanged and are back in the nation's capital looking for more.

The new Democratic majority in Congress seems more than willing to cut bureaucratic red tape to speed the recovery, but hasn't committed to the infusion of new cash the state says it needs.
Republicans and the Bush administration, meanwhile, say the state needs to spend what it has first.

Louisianians making the rounds on Capitol Hill last week kept hearing the same question: Didn't we just send you $110 billion?

"I hear it all the time," said Walter Leger, of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state entity in charge of rebuilding programs. "It's frustrating."

The LRA estimates that in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana alone sustained upwards of $100 billion in losses, but hasn't gotten anywhere near that amount. Leger figures the state has $34 billion in "uncompensated losses."

A misinterpretation
He says the $110 billion in federal assistance for the Gulf Coast is widely misinterpreted. First, the money was divided among the five Gulf Coast states and covers damage from Katrina, Rita and Wilma, which hit south Florida. The LRA figures that Louisiana's share of that was about $59 billion, but even that is misleading.

About $18 billion came in the form of disaster relief, which includes the kind of post-crisis assistance -- health care, evacuee assistance, business loans -- the federal government routinely extends in a major crisis. An additional $14.7 billion was in payouts from the National Flood Insurance Program, for which Louisiana policyholders had paid premiums.

By the LRA's calculations, the state has received $26.4 billion in genuine federal help, including money to rebuild levees, homes, schools and community infrastructure.

"A lot has been said about the $110 billion," said Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge. "We just haven't seen it."

But skeptics of the state's position aren't hard to find in Washington. The skeptic in chief is President Bush, who has said that the state doesn't need more money, but to spend what it already has.

Shortchanged from start Exhibit A, he said, is Gov. Kathleen Blanco's Road Home housing program, which has been allocated nearly $12 billion; as of Thursday, 590 people had gotten checks totaling $38.3 million.

"I think it's important for the state and the parishes to use what they have right now," said Donald Powell, Bush's Gulf Coast recovery coordinator. "My job is to look at the needs and make recommendations for more funding. But I think anyone would be hard- pressed right now to recommend more funding when the vast majority of the state's federal funds remain unspent."

There also is no shortage of doubters on Capitol Hill. At a hearing last week, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., said he thought Louisiana had enough. He read aloud comments Blanco made a year ago praising President Bush and touting the "carefully crafted, legitimate numbers" for the assistance received.

But Leger said Bachus was quoting her out of context and that Louisiana has been shortchanged from the start.

"If we got $59 billion, that means the rest went to Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, and we had four times the damage," Leger said. "That's not fair. That's what people ought to be looking at."

He and Democrats in the state's delegation told the House Financial Services Committee last week that Mississippi has fared far better because of its Republican political clout on Capitol Hill. In December 2005, Mississippi got $5.2 billion for housing recovery in an emergency supplemental spending bill and Louisiana got $6.2 billion, even though Louisiana had far more damage from flooding.

According to the Office of Gulf Coast Rebuilding, Louisiana had 204,737 homes destroyed or with major damage. Together, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas had 77,173.

It helped Mississippi's case in Congress that the man making the final spending decisions, Sen. Thad Cochran, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is the state's senior senator.

Louisiana officials say the unfairness continued in the supplemental spending package passed in the summer of 2006 in which the state got an additional $4.2 billion for housing. Leger estimated that the actual need was $8 billion to $9 billion, but because of Mississippi's clout, Louisiana's portion was limited.

"I don't begrudge Mississippi its money, but we have to ask what does it really take to fund the recovery?" Rep. William Jefferson, D- New Orleans, said. "There just isn't enough money starting out to measure up to the scope of the damage. The amount was pulled out of the air and politics took over."

The 10 percent rule
The disparity, they say, continues today. At the top of Blanco's wish list is waiving the requirement that Louisiana pay 10 percent of the disaster recovery costs. The Bush
administration reduced the amount from 25 percent, but the Blanco administration says it has cost Louisiana $400 million that could be spent on rebuilding and will cost plenty more.

She says that the federal government waived the local cost-share for Hawaii in 1992 when Hurricane Iniki hit and for Louisiana and Florida the same year after Hurricane Andrew. The local contribution was also waived for New York after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Powell, the Bush-appointed recovery coordinator, said that extra money was given to Louisiana to cover the state's share and that it's important for locals to take some "ownership of these
projects."

But state officials say they will be in a better position to help themselves when they receive a little more help from Washington.

A pamphlet members of the LRA were handing out on Capitol Hill last week quoted from Bush's Sept. 15, 2005, speech in Jackson Square promising "an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis."

"We are still waiting to be treated like other states," it says.
From Jenni

Going Without Heat

I wrote about this problem about a month ago, sent a letter off to God and everybody - and it's just being noticed.
http://katrinaadvocate.blogspot.com/2007/01/heat-needed-letter.html
Talk about voiceless. I can't imagine being in the position these people are in!
How difficult - to tell anyone who will listen that things are BAD and nothing happens. Absolutely nothing happens.
This is where I'm going to get pissed at all of the volunteers. I write these letters for everyone to send. I don't write them for MY health. I write them for the survivors! We are their voices - so speak up! Shout! Use the letters I write - send them to the people I suggest, plus any YOU think of. It's the only way things will continue to progress.
It takes and extreme action to produce a moderate reaction within our society. So start screaming!

Trailer residents complain of cold
Many can't afford propane, activist says
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
By Ed Anderson
BATON ROUGE -- Hurricane victims, living in FEMA trailers near Baton Rouge for more than 17 months, told a legislative panel Monday that some residents are going without heat in near-freezing weather because they cannot afford to pay for propane for their temporary homes.
Wilbert Ross, president of Katrina Rebirth Promise Land Inc., an organization that represents about 3,500 residents dislodged from their New Orleans homes by Hurricane Katrina, said the federal government last April cut off a food service and vouchers to pay for propane to heat the trailers, cook food and heat water for people living in the Renaissance Village trailer park in Baker.
With temperatures that have dipped below freezing recently and are expected to hover in the 30s this week, Ross said, the state should help pay for the propane. On average, he said, the 3,500 people his organization represents buy two propane tanks about twice a month at a cost of $20 per tank.
He said that when residents moved into the trailers after the hurricane they were told shelter, propane and food would be provided. Now, Ross said, residents at times have to make a choice between spending money on heat, food or baby supplies like diapers.
Speaking to members of the Joint Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs and the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, Ross said the propane problem is especially acute for elderly people on fixed incomes, single parents who cannot leave their children alone to work, those who have exhausted other benefits and residents who want to work but do not have the transportation to jobs.
Collecting cans
He said church and community groups have pitched in to help, and park residents collect and recycle cans to buy propane.
"We have got 10,000 needs and not enough money to address those needs," said Andy Kopplin, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state's chief hurricane recovery oversight agency. The authority has allocated about $15 million to the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps to provide social services and mental health counseling for hurricane victims. He said he will talk to corps Chief Executive Officer Raymond Jetson about the food and heating problems.
"These are survival issues as opposed to long-term construction or planning issues," Kopplin said. He told residents of Renaissance Village that much of the grant money has stiff criteria that prevents using it on propane.
Jetson told the panel that besides the LRA's allocation his agency has received $32 million from the federal Temporary Aid for Needy Families program that can be used only for people who meet certain income levels with children.
Of the money the corps has received, Jetson said, about $3.5 million is not restricted. He said his office has used some money to help pay for propane and feeding programs for residents of the village. "We have less than $2 million left and some of that is earmarked for other needs," he said.
Jetson said last month that he would seek $100 million from the state to finance the programs his office wants for resettling and caring for displaced citizens.
Jetson estimated about 15,000 families living in trailers at about 400 sites around the state could benefit from the program.
Politicians pitch in
"If I could get out of here today without leaving someone behind, I'd get out of here running," said Ross, a dishwasher and former Lower 9th Ward resident. "Even if we had a portable kitchen (to cook meals) that would be better."
"If it is not morally wrong, it is on the verge of criminality if you let our citizens suffer when they were put in a condition that they cannot control," said Sen. Heulette "Clo" Fontenot, R-Livingston, to LRA and other state officials in the audience.
"It will be shame on us if people are freezing and going hungry," said Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, chairman of the Senate panel. Sen. Diana Bajoie, D-New Orleans, pointed out to Kopplin and others that the federal government is still paying for housing and utilities for hurricane victims, and the least it can do is pay for to heat the trailers of displaced citizens.
Sen. Tom Schedler, R-Slidell, said he was going to donate $1,000 from his campaign fund to buy propane for some residents, and Bajoie said she will kick in $300 to $400 to buy baby food and diapers for families who are struggling. Bajoie said she will make telephone calls to others to solicit contributions.
"That is the most deplorable thing I have heard," Schedler told Ross of the conditions he described. Schedler said that government should find a way "to heat these trailers and feed these people" or "private corporate America" should do so with donations.
"You are going to embarrass FEMA and HUD (the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development)," he said. "If you have to embarrass people into it, so be it. We as a state are sitting on $2.5 billion (in past and projected surpluses); we should be embarrassed."
. . . . . . .
Ed Anderson cane be reached at eanderson@timespicayune.com.

FEMA Dedication to MS

3/10 Mississippi recovery efforts to date:

Individual support continues with more than $1.16 billion to individuals and families:

* 216,483 individuals and families have been approved for Housing Assistance totaling more than $849 million;
* 134,202 Mississippi survivors have been approved for more than $319 million in Other Needs Assistance;
* As of Mar. 2, 2007, there were 27,837 temporary housing units (travel trailers and mobile homes) in service. Nearly 16,000 units have been returned to FEMA.

In communities across the state, approximately $1.18 billion has been approved in the following Public Assistance (PA) categories:

* $353 million for emergency protective measures;
* $425 million to repair public buildings;
* $303 million to restore public utilities;
* $61 million to restore public recreational facilities such as state parks;
* $38 million to repair roads and bridges;
* $1.9 million to repair water control devices such as reservoirs and irrigation channels.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency administers the funds. To date, MEMA has disbursed more than $1 billion to PA applicants for rebuilding projects including bridges, public buildings and utilities.

*More than $683 million obligated for land-based debris removal.
* More than 45 million cubic yards of eligible land-based debris has been removed from public and private property throughout the state.
Approximately 30 million cubic yards of debris have been removed in the lower three counties.
* Removal of land-based construction and demolition debris in the inundated areas of the three coastal counties has been extended to June 30.
Standing dead trees are eligible for removal from all parts of Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties through June 30. Property owners must complete right-of-entry form available at their local building department by the deadline set by their local jurisdiction.

An inter-agency campaign, directed by FEMA, has been working to clean up Mississippi's coastal and inland waterways.

* The U.S. Coast Guard has cleared more than 63,000 cubic yards of marine debris from the water since marine cleanup began last September and six of 16 marine debris removal contracts are complete.
* Approximately 224,785 cubic yards remains in the inland waterways and another estimated 247,208 cubic yards remain to be removed offshore.
Marine debris removal will be 100 percent federally funded until May 15, 2007.
* Nearly $237 million has been obligated for marine debris removal.

1/07
BILOXI, Miss. -- The recovery effort remains strong throughout Mississippias families rebuild their homes, communities and lives. In partnership with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), theU.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) has obligated more than $9.4 billion in disaster aid to Mississippias of Jan. 12, 2007.
Approximately $1.1 billion has been approved in the following Public Assistance (PA) categories (not including debris removal). To date, more than $990 million has been disbursed to PA applicants for rebuilding projects including bridges, public buildings and utilities. MEMA administers the funds.
The $1.1 billion approved for PA includes:
* $326 million for emergency protective measures;
* $415 million to repair public buildings;
* $301 million to restore public utilities;
* $58 million to restore public recreational facilities such as stateparks;
* $30 million to repair roads and bridges;
* $1.6 million to repair water control devices such as reservoirs andirrigation channels. Approximately $1.16 billion to individuals and families:
* 216,448 individuals and families have been approved for Housing Assistance totaling more than $845 million;
* 134,097 Mississippi Hurricane Katrina survivors have been approvedfor more than $318 million in Other Needs Assistance.
More than $1.3 billion has been approved for debris removal including nearly$222 million for marine debris and $790 million for land-based debris.
* Approximately 45 million cubic yards of eligible land-based debrishas been removed from public and private property throughout the state. In addition, nearly 26 million cubic yards of debris have been removed in the lower three counties.
* The six-month extension for the removal of land-based debris in theinundated areas of the three coastal counties ends February 28, 2007.
* The U.S. Coast Guard has cleared nearly 47,000 cubic yards of marinedebris, and has completed four of 16 marine debris removal contracts. Marinedebris removal will be 100 percent federally funded until May 15, 2007.
Other assistance:
* FEMA paid nearly $2.5 billion through its National Flood InsuranceProgram to 17,170 policy holders;
* FEMA paid nearly $3 billion to other federal agencies to complete specific tasks or mission assignments during response and recovery, such asemergency medical assistance and debris removal;
* As of Jan. 16, 2007, there were 30,141 temporary housing units(travel trailers and mobile homes) in service. These units are being returned to FEMA at an average of 250 units per week. In addition, more than $2.6 billion in U.S. Small Business Administrationloans have been approved for Mississippians.
* Nearly $2.1 billion in loans to 31,086 homeowners and renters;
* More than $534 million to 4,334 businesses;
* More than $19 million to 328 small businesses for working capital. The above figures were compiled as of Jan. 12, 2007. The Hurricane Katrina Mississippi Recovery Update will be released on amonthly basis. FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any nationalincident, initiates mitigation activities and manages the National Flood Insurance Program.
13:05:46http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=33308

New MS FEMA Director

Acting director named for FEMA's Miss. recovery office
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BILOXI - Jeff Byard, who recently oversaw FEMA's Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts in Alabama, has been named the acting director of the FEMA-Mississippi Transitional Recovery Office in Biloxi.
The appointment was announced by Gil Jamieson, deputy director for Gulf Coast Recovery for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Jamieson said in a statement that Byard "knows state and FEMA programs inside and out. He brings many years of experience working with FEMA, and has a commitment to customer service to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina that is exemplary."
Before working with FEMA in Alabama, Byard had served as recovery branch chief for Alabama's Emergency Management Agency for four years.

1/4% Will Max FEMA Help

From WBAL in Baltimore
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17424223/
excerpt
"The government has not worked out a way so people can rebuild their homes. It's taking way too long," he said.
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin said less than 1 percent of the uninsured have received federal recovery money. He estimated that administrative costs average $30,000 per grant applicant.

From the Washington Post through Janet

Dec. 3, 2006 at 3:51PM Fewer than 4,700 families will reach a $26,200 cap on disaster assistance following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the U.S. government says.
The figure amounts to fewer than one-fourth of 1 percent of the 2.6million households that applied for disaster aid. The aid program is set to expire in March, when an 18-month statutory cutoff takes effect, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says.
The figures are surprising, anti-poverty advocates say, given the storms' scope, the incomplete reconstruction of New Orleans and the demographic profile of evacuees, who were generally poorer and less well-insured than other Americans, The Washington Post reports.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition, a housing-advocacy group, is pushing to extend the 18-month federal limit on aid, lift the $26,200 cap and expand a Department of Housing and Urban Development disaster program, as advocates for the poor want.
FEMA Director R. David Paulison defended FEMA's efforts.
"We felt like we did a good job," he said, adding FEMA helped morepeople than it ever has despite overwhelmed systems, huge work volumes and pressure to fight victim fraud.

FEMA Information

3/1 - Standing Dead Tree Removal Deadline Extended to June 30
http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/GCNkatrinaTreedRemovalDeadlineExtended.htm
The deadline for debris removal from the street curb and demolitions remains February 28.
FEMA will continue to fund marine debris removal at 100 percent until May 15, 2007.
2/28 FEMA Trailer Extension Formally BeginsResidents Have Until August 31 to Find New Homes
http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/GCNnewsKatrinaFEMAtrailerExtensionBegins.htm
In January, FEMA officials told Governor Haley Barbour that an extension to the housing deadline that was to expire at the end of February would be extended until August 31

2/20 FEMA Mobile Homes Buy Out Option - from Terra
Hello All,
I spoke with MHOPS (Mobile Home Operations) this morning and here is what I learned:
· The first round has ended and those who were eligible to purchase their FEMA Mobile home were notified by letter.
· There is a “Hold” on purchasing and people who were not notified during the first round may be contacted when the next phase opens.
· NO TRAVEL TRAILERS WILL BE SOLD. This is only for people in mobile homes.
· It will not help an applicant to call and ask to be put on a list as there is not a list being generated at this time.
· The hope is that the next phase will open in the next 6 weeks. Please ask applicants to be patient. There should be a press release when this happens. If after 6 weeks (which by my calculation puts us in April) an applicant has not heard anything, it would be appropriate to call the call center and ask if the next phase has been opened.
Have a wonderful Day!
Tammy
Tammy Martin
FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaison

2/11 Spending Spree On Trailers - from Jenni
Excerpt http://www.theadvocate.com/
BATON ROUGE, La.-- Although hurricane evacuees are being pushed to find permanent housing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues to buy more trailers. FEMA has spent nearly $30 million since July on 2,000 new travel trailers and mobile homes that are handicapped-accessible. The agency is also seeking proposals for another 1,500. But fewer than half of the 2,000 trailers already delivered were occupied as of last week. Of the 10,000 or so handicapped-accessible travel trailers and mobile homes in FEMA's inventory, just over half house people, with the rest in storage.

1/26 Through ReliefWeb.int
BILOXI, Miss. -- The recovery effort remains strong throughout Mississippi as families rebuild their homes, communities and lives.
In partnership with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has obligated more than $9.4 billion in disaster aid to Mississippi as of Jan. 12, 2007.
Approximately $1.1 billion has been approved in the following Public Assistance (PA) categories (not including debris removal). To date, more than $990 million has been disbursed to PA applicants for rebuilding projects including bridges, public buildings and utilities. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency administers the funds.
The $1.1 billion approved for PA includes:
- $326 million for emergency protective measures;
- $415 million to repair public buildings;
- $301 million to restore public utilities;
- $58 million to restore public recreational facilities such as state parks;
- $30 million to repair roads and bridges;
- $1.6 million to repair water control devices such as reservoirs and irrigation channels.
Approximately $1.16 billion to individuals and families:
- 216,448 individuals and families have been approved for Housing Assistance totaling more than $845 million;
- 134,097 Mississippi Hurricane Katrina survivors have been approved for more than $318 million in Other Needs Assistance.
More than $1.3 billion has been approved for debris removal including nearly $222 million for marine debris and $790 million for land-based debris.
- Approximately 45 million cubic yards of eligible land-based debris has been removed from public and private property throughout the state. In addition, nearly 26 million cubic yards of debris have been removed in the lower three counties.
- The six-month extension for the removal of land-based debris in the inundated areas of the three coastal counties ends February 28, 2007.
- The U.S. Coast Guard has cleared nearly 47,000 cubic yards of marine debris, and has completed four of 16 marine debris removal contracts. Marine debris removal will be 100 percent federally funded until May 15, 2007.
Other assistance:
- FEMA paid nearly $2.5 billion through its National Flood Insurance Program to 17,170 policy holders;
- FEMA paid nearly $3 billion to other federal agencies to complete specific tasks or mission assignments during response and recovery, such as emergency medical assistance and debris removal;
- As of Jan. 16, 2007, there were 30,141 temporary housing units (travel trailers and mobile homes) in service. These units are being returned to FEMA at an average of 250 units per week.
In addition, more than $2.6 billion in U.S. Small Business Administration loans have been approved for Mississippians.
- Nearly $2.1 billion in loans to 31,086 homeowners and renters;
- More than $534 million to 4,334 businesses;
- More than $19 million to 328 small businesses for working capital.
The above figures were compiled as of Jan. 12, 2007.
The Hurricane Katrina Mississippi Recovery Update will be released on a monthly basis.
1/20 - Through Biloxi City's Site
At the state’s request, FEMA has approved the cutting of standing dead trees on property outside of the surge area in the three Coastal counties.
“This program is an expansion of the FEMA dead-tree program that had been limited to the surge inundation areas of the Coast,” said Jonathan Kiser, Biloxi’s debris-removal coordinator. “However, the dead trees must be ‘pre-validated’ by FEMA after receipt of a valid tree removal ROE form by the owner of the property.”
Tree Removal ROE forms can be obtained weekdays from the Community Development, 676 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; from Neel-Schaffer, 772 Howard Ave. or on the city’s web site at biloxi.ms.us. To see a form now, click here.
With a Feb. 28 deadline looming for debris removal, property owners are encouraged to file the ROEs as soon as possible.

1/19 FEMA Restates it's Dedication to MS (uh huh) - From Janet
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/fema-dedication-to-ms.html

1/19 Housing Extension
NEW ORLEANS — The Federal Emergency Management Agency intends to extend by at least six months its transitional housing assistance program for Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The program was scheduled to expire next month, potentially displacing more than 100,000 households from FEMA-funded trailers, mobile homes and rental units, Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office said.
Aaron Walker, a spokesman for FEMA, confirmed the extension this afternoon, soon after Landrieu, D-New Orleans, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced it in separate news releases.“We have always recognized the overwhelming burden that this (storm) has placed on disaster victims,” Walker said. “We’re committed to the recovery of the Gulf Coast region, and we recognize that housing is one of the region’s greatest challenges. We felt like a six-month extension was certainly appropriate in this situation.”
Housing advocates had been pushing for the extension. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now had scheduled a Monday news conference to urge the extension. ACORN officials were not immediately available for comment.
Source: The Jackson, MS Clarion-Ledger.

1/16 New MS Director
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-ms-fema-director.html

1/12 From a Fellow Volunteer

I went to the FEMA web site trying to figure out who might be in charge of FEMA trailers. The site sucks. It has lots of links on how to go about filing for assistance (I started to say getting assistance but realized how wrong that was). Anyway at the bottom of the page is a link to their No FEAR (Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation record.

Antidiscrimination complaints have dramatically jumped in 2006 in almost every category. http://www.fema.gov/oer/eeo_data_excel.shtm I’m not an EEO type person but to have this many complaints tells me something is very wrong.

AND

I’m thinking that the advocacy group might be able to challenge the deplorable conditions of FEMA trailers and housing including the black mold and other fungi growing in some of these places. You can put the link up on your sites for FEMA disability assistance but its way too long for you to read or post the whole thing which is in PDF anyway.

Also included in the agreement is every major newspaper and television station name, address and contact including web sites and e-mail. If someone had the ability to blow the lid about the deplorable conditions this would give them the place to take it to.

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/brou_fema.pdf

1/4 - From Gary (First 2 paragraphs only)
Latest FEMA reimbursement to Mississippi totals $18M
Reimbursement funds for Hurricane Katrina related recovery services ranging from tree removal to water system restoration are included in $18 million in federal funds approved for Mississippi.
Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, both R-Miss., said Wednesday the grants administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are going to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the cities of Gulfport and Bay St. Louis for costs associated with hurricane recovery.
1/3 - From Marlene
Excerpt only
Audit says FEMA squandering Katrina aid By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - One year after Katrina, the government is still squanderingtens of millions of dollars in wasted disaster aid, including $17 million inbogus rental payments to people who had already received free trailers andapartments, federal investigators said Wednesday.

12/28 from Gary
trailers' may give way to more livable shelters
Hoping to respond more effectively after the next natural disaster to the needs of those made homeless, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is eying five proposed types of temporary housing that would replace so-called FEMA trailers with "high quality, more livable quarters," the Sun Herald of Biloxi, Miss., reports today.
According to the newspaper, FEMA has $400 million to spend on a pilot program aimed at developing such housing. About $275 million is headed for two proposals from firms in Mississippi.
One of those two proposals calls for "shotgun-styled modular houses" with "eight-foot ceilings ... storage, porches, a sense of safety, energy efficiency, conventional bedrooms and normal-sized appliances and closets," the Sun Herald says. The other Mississippi proposal is "based on portable structures used by the National Park Service to house employees working in remote areas. They can be wheeled in like a trailer and deployed quickly."
According to the Sun Herald, some people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina 16 months ago and are still living in FEMA trailers may be moved into versions of the pilots homes in coming months. "But FEMA could not project how many who are still living in FEMA trailers will get new homes as a result of the program," it added. "There are still 84,000 such people in Mississippi."
12/20
FEMA To Restart Katrina Housing Program
POSTED: 4:44 pm CST December 18, 2006
UPDATED: 5:18 pm CST December 18, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Under a court order, the Bush administration will restart a housing program for Hurricane Katrina victims early this week and begin explaining to thousands of evacuees in Texas why their aid was cut off this summer.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled last month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency violated the Constitution when it eliminated short-term housing assistance and provided victims only confusing computer-generated codes to explain its decision.
FEMA officials testified in federal court Monday in Washington that the agency could restore the system this week -- but they didn't say how soon Texas families could begin receiving monthly checks of about $750.
Officials also said they are working to produce easily understandable letters from an outdated computer system to explain why the aid was eliminated and how to appeal the decision.
Leon also has ordered FEMA to make three months of retroactive housing payments, which would amount to checks of about $2,250 for each eligible family. FEMA estimated 4,200 Texas families are covered by Leon's order.

12/14
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge called the Bush administration's handling of a Hurricane Katrina housing program "a legal disaster" Wednesday and ordered officials to explain a computer system that can neither precisely count evacuees nor provide reasons why they were denied aid.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, who ruled last month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had violated evacuees' constitutional rights by eliminating their housing payments without notice, admonished the government for not moving fast enough to restart the program for between 3,600 and 5,500 storm victims.
"Let me make this clear," Leon told government attorney Michael Sitcov. "Tell FEMA that I'm expecting them to get going on this. Like immediately."
Leon ruled that FEMA mishandled the transition from a short-term housing program to a longer-term program this spring and summer. Instead of explaining why funding was being cut, FEMA provided only computer-generated and sometimes conflicting program codes, Leon said.
The judge ordered FEMA to explain those decisions so thousands of evacuees can understand the reasoning and decide whether to appeal.
"I'm not looking for a doctoral dissertation," Leon said. "I'm looking for a couple of paragraphs in plain English."
Sitcov said that FEMA's computer system cannot do what the judge wants. The eight-year-old system is set up only to produce program codes, he said. The program also cannot say for certain how many evacuees in Texas were covered by Leon's order or how many people appealed the denial of their aid, Sitcov said.
"It's not as adept at doing these kinds of machinations," said Sitcov, who said the best estimate of evacuees covered by the order was 5,479.
Leon appeared bewildered and ordered FEMA officials to testify Monday about the program. He said he didn't understand why the letters couldn't be written by hand. He said 10 employees, working overtime and on weekends could translate program codes into 5,000 understandable letters in two weeks -- nearly the amount of time that has passed since his ruling.
"This is a legal disaster. People's rights are being denied," Leon said. "I don't want us to get so mired in the minutiae and the law while, in the meantime, people who need help are not getting help."
FEMA has appealed Leon's order and is hoping a higher court will block its enforcement until the appeal plays out. That ruling is unlikely before next week, and Leon said he wants the agency to start working on the problem immediately.
"Two weeks have been lost and I don't want another day to be lost," Leon said. "We've got to get moving."
Sitcov said FEMA could not comply with the order to restart the housing program because the agreements to reimburse Texas cities for rental payments have expired. Leon said he's sure local governments would be willing to make those same agreements again and said he might order Texas officials to testify Monday.
Leon also scheduled a telephone conference Friday between FEMA and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of hurricane victims.
From Dane
12/6 - Only 1/4 of 1% will max FEMA Assistance Money.
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/12/14-will-max-fema-help.html

FEMA ordered to resume Katrina payments
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 29, 6:49 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration must immediately resume housing payments for thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, a federal judge said Wednesday, heaping more criticism on the government's handling of the 2005 disaster.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon's ruling sharply criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency for illegally cutting housing funding and subjecting storm victims to a convoluted application process he called "Kafkaesque."
It is the second court victory for Katrina victims this week. A federal judge in Louisiana said Monday that many homeowners might be entitled to more insurance money for flood damage.
Full Story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061129/ap_on_go_ot/katrina_housing

The South Mississippi Sun Herald June 30, 2006
Call center opens for trailer questions
A new Mississippi Maintenance/Applicant Support Call Center (866)877-6075 in Jackson will open Monday and operate 24 hours daily including holidays.
This line is for Mississippi residents with mobile home and travel trailers and a wide range of applicant issues.
Applicants who have not received a mobile home or trailer should still contact FEMA by calling (800) 621-FEMA (3362) or online at www.FEMA.gov. The TTY number for the speech- or hearing-impaired is (800) 462-7585.
The assistance call centers are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Callers can still check the status of their applications 24 hours a day, seven days a week by using the automated response system when they call the help line.

MS Army Corps Number

601-631-5065. Live hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday thru Friday.
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST ... (From Janet)
If you are one of the 20,000 Katrina victims who have requested FEMA debris removal assistance from your private property, the Army Corps of Engineers has opened a 24-hour customer service phone line to allow you to report concerns about any aspect of the work.
"Our debris clients need a very clear, quick path to report problems with their debris removal," said Michael Logue, public affairs officer for Task Force Hope, Mississippi.
The phone line will allow private property debris clients to file a trouble ticket with a live technician, or voice mail if the phone lines are busy or the calls are received after hours.
The voice mail message will be given the same priority as a live message.
"We don't want folks to feel like they have to keep calling until they get the live person to get action. The voice mail and live technician work exactly the same way. We just need your information to generate a trouble ticket."
Logue said the live technician will not be able to forecast work or resolve debris or other recovery issues.Trouble tickets will be given to debris management specialists twice daily.
"Our goal is a follow up to the caller within 24 hours," Logue said.
The Corps asks callers to be prepared to provide name, phone number, ROE number, property address, and a very brief description of the issue.
The phone line is 601-631-5065. Live hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday thru Friday.