Arkansas Tops The List (For a bad reason. Again)

The United States Army Corp of Engineers has recently released a list of 114 levees in 16 states that have received a ranking of 'unacceptable'. I was expecting California or Louisiana to take the first place spot, but both were surpassed by the State of Arkansas. Arkansas has 30 levees with such a rating. Most of the levees were turned over to local governments and fell into the current status due to other spending priorities.

The Corp is warning state and local governments that their deficiencies are so severe that it can be "reasonably foreseen" that they will not perform properly in a major flood. People who rely on the levees should "be aware that there is reason for concern," says Tammy Conforti, head of the corps' levee safety program.

The corps' levee inspections were revamped under a public safety initiative started after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A round of 63 levees with unacceptable maintenance lost eligibility for federal rehabilitation aid last year after they were not fixed within a one-time, one-year grace period.

Now, the addition of 114 levees to that list leaves a total of 177 nationwide that are so poorly maintained that they don't qualify for federal rehabilitation. That's 9% of the nearly 2,000 levees the corps inspects.

There are thousands of levees nationwide — the government has no precise number — that aren't subject to federal oversight, often because they were built by local or private sponsors. And many big levees, including some on the Mississippi River and around New Orleans, are federal projects where the corps handles major maintenance itself.

The corps will alert the Federal Emergency Management Agency to poorly maintained levees. If states and communities cannot certify to FEMA that those levees will handle a 100-year flood — one that has a 1% chance of hitting each year — owners of property behind them may have to buy flood insurance.

"Many of the levee boards don't have the funds to maintain them and really haven't … for years," says Michael Borengasser, National Flood Insurance Program coordinator for the state of Arkansas.

Federal taxpayers already have paid to rebuild many levees that failed in floods because of poor maintenance, says Larry Larson, director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. "For years, the corps has been threatening to kick them out of the (rehabilitation) program, but never really did," he adds. "Now, the corps is doing the right thing."



You can view the list of unacceptable levees here.

Eric Holder calls for weapons ban

Obamatron Eric Holder has called for a renewed assault weapons ban.  I'm calling for a ban on Eric Holder. I'll dissect his statements later....

Daily Roundup

Missible Defense and F-22 on the Chopping Block? 

-According to Fox, the Pentagon is looking to cut a few project to free up some money. The Obama administration may be looking to cut the F-22 Raptor and missile defense projects. Both are large project intended to counter enemies with standing armies. 

Al-Qaeda doesn't qualify. Although I certainly agree with the necessity to review our national defense strategy, I don't want to take tools off the table. You never know when we'll have to face the Communists again. 

Thanks Oregon. Really, You Shouldn't Have! 

It was this day in 1913 that Oregon implemented the gas tax. Thanks. 

Bass Pro Fishing Classic 

Feb 27-March 15 is Bass Pro's Fishing Classic. 

Mexican Cartel Bust - Operation Xcellerator

Kudos to the men and women of the Drug Enforcement Agency who have been working for the past 21 months on Operation Xcellator. 

To date, Operation Xcellerator has led to the arrest of 755 individuals and the seizure of approximately $59.1 million in U.S. currency, more than 12,000 kilograms of cocaine, more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana, more than 1,200 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 8 kilograms of heroin, approximately 1.3 million pills of Ecstasy, more than $6.5 million in other assets, 149 vehicles, 3 aircraft, 3 maritime vessels and 169 weapons.

Obama's Joint Congress Address

President Barack Obama delievered his first address to the full congress and to the American public tonight. You can read the text of his address here. 

 I can't say I disagree with much of what he said. I disagree with some of his priorities and his methods, but I don't disagree with his desire to return America to a country that can pull its own boots on. 

But I'm withholding a verdict until I see exactly how he wants to do it....I can almost guarantee I won't like the methods. 

Chicago Tea Party

Friday, February 27, 2009

11:00am - 12:00pm

Location:Daley Plaza Civic Center

Street:50 W Washington St., Chicago, IL

Facebook page

h/t - BackYard Conservative

Mammatus Clouds

In this image, you can see a collection of mammatus clouds directly above the treeline. The whole sky consisted of that sort of cloud on Sunday morning when I ended my shift. It was rather amazing. 

I tried to beat the wind home to take a picture before they disappeared, but by the time I got my camera, this lone section was all that remained.