Levee Repair Costs Triple

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said the announcement confirmed his warnings since November that Washington is "stonewalling" and seeking "way too little money" for levee repairs.

The new cost estimates, just as hurricane season is approaching, are "enormously frustrating," he said.

A spokesperson for New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin (D) said he had no comment.

In the conference call yesterday, Powell reiterated the promise that the levees will be at least as strong as they were designed to be before Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29.

"If a hurricane such as Katrina hit the area, there would not be catastrophic flooding," he said. But, he said, there might be some "manageable" flooding.

Powell said that science, "not any bureaucracy, politics nor any member of the political branches," determined the cost revisions. Bush "is concerned with the well-being of the area's residents," he said, but "he wants to make sure we make the right rebuilding decisions, not just for the residents but for the American taxpayers."

Indicating that not all of the $6 billion will be forthcoming, Powell said he will be in discussions with state and local leaders about which portions of the region should be protected with insurance-certified levees, and also how much the state and local governments can pay.

"We're dialoguing with the state and local officials," he said, adding that if there is an agreement, maps clarifying where and how homeowners can rebuild could be released in 10 days. "We haven't decided what [amount] to ask for."

He played down the difference between the ordinary levees and those that meet the standards of the insurance program, saying the $6 billion in improvements is "an insurance issue, and not necessarily a safety issue."

Whether the levees meet the flood insurance standards is considered a key piece of the rebuilding puzzle, however.

In areas where the levees do not meet the standards, buildings may have to be constructed up to 20 to 35 feet above ground, a Powell aide acknowledged. Also, in a city where there is a desperate need for housing investors, areas with less-than-optimal levees could scare off flood-wary developers.

To help state and local officials choose which areas might be protected by insurance-certified levees, Powell broke the four-parish New Orleans region into 10 areas and listed the populations and cost of building such levees.

In the analysis, three Plaquemines Parish sections, southeast of the city, look ripe for cost-cutting. Less than 2 percent of the area's population lives there, but it would cost nearly $2.9 billion to build certified levees.

By contrast, protecting Algiers, where 13 percent of the region's population lives, would cost $129 million.

The reason the cost estimates have risen so dramatically is that the science of hurricanes and hurricane protection is evolving, Maj. Gen. Don T. Riley, director of civil works for the Army Corps of Engineers, said yesterday.

The loss of coastal wetlands protecting New Orleans from storms, as well as the lowering of the ground level in the area, have reduced the city's natural safeguards from flooding -- and altered assumptions.

Moreover, new storm data from the past 20 years suggest that powerful storms are more likely to hit New Orleans than previously believed. The previous levee design was meant for less powerful storms, but the recent surge of activity has changed ideas about what kinds of storms the city should be prepared for.

"As we learn, we will adjust our methodology and our estimates," Riley said. "To do it properly takes time."

Staff writers Joby Warrick and Michael Grunwald contributed to this report.