AP NewsBreak: Bush will not declare disaster for levees (grants 'unusual' waiver instead)

AP on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 4/21/06 | Scott Lindlaw - ap

[NormsRevenge]

President Bush has issued an unusual waiver that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accept state money for critical levee repairs, a senior Bush administration official said Friday.

In a meeting planned Friday afternoon in San Jose with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bush did not plan to grant the federal disaster declaration the governor sought as heavy rains strained the fragile levee system.

The waiver, plus help with expediting permits and the possibility of future federal funds, were likely in lieu of the declaration, the Bush administration official said.

The kind of pre-emptive disaster declaration Schwarzenegger sought in February is very unusual, and "it doesn't move dirt," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the White House had not announced the decision.

The corps is a branch of the U.S. military and does not often operate with money from states. But Bush has agreed to let about $23 million in California money flow into the corps' bank account to start repairs this summer and fall, the Bush administration official said.

A state official likened it to an advance down payment for the levee work, suggesting California expected reimbursement.

The governor had sought the waiver to speed repairs on 29 levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that need critical repairs to prevent flooding and ensure the reliability of delivering water to cities and farms.

State officials fear that California's fragile levee system could fail in an earthquake or under strain from the unusually heavy rainfall and snow the state has seen this year.

[rightinthemiddle]

I find it amazing that people expect to live anywhere they want and have the government clean up their messes.

How about:

Don't build a house on the side of a hill that erodes?

Don't build a house in a flood plain?

Don't build a poor structure in a hurricane zone?

Don't build below a dam or levee?

California seems to think it is so perfect, it doesn't deserve bad weather.

Missouri has been hit with 82 tornadoes this year. What's the government going to do about it? Bush and Cheny have a weather machine, don't they?

[untrained skeptic]

I'm trying to figure out how much of this is AP spin on the issue.

They're saying it's unusual that the corps are receiving State funds to work on the levees.

However, the levees are the responsibility of the state government not the federal government.

This seems more like the federal government is providing aid to the state, and the state is paying only some of the costs for fulfilling their own responsibilities.

How do states usually pay for maintenance and repair of their levees? Is this work usually not done by the Corps?

They way the AP is presenting this doesn't make much sense to me, which isn't unusual since their article are usually long on spin and short on facts. Anyone out there understand this situation better?