[CobaltBlue]

Eventually most, if not all, of the property in the flood zones is going to be scraped clean and allowed to return to wetlands. That's my prediction.

If the EPA restrictions on building on wetlands had been in effect back then, they never could have built on these properties to begin with.

Eventually the American taxpayer is going to foot the bill, and buy it all up.

It's just a question of "when" and "how much."

[Mind-numbed Robot]

If the EPA had existed "back then" we would never have had the levees and New Orleans would have consisted of the French Quarter and some of the downtown area until the silting from the flooding filled in others areas so they were suitable for building. The area below New Orleans would not have subsided and much of the storm surge and rain would have been absorbed by that. Also, the main channel of the river would have roamed around between where it now is and the Atchafalaya Basin. So much for what if. (Don't let that make you think I favor the EPA, I don't.)

Other than that picky little detail, I agree with you.