Spring 2006 The BRIDGE LINKING ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY Toxic and Contaminant Concerns Generated by Hurricane Katrina Danny D. Reible, Charles N. Haas, John H. Pardue, and William J. Walsh The Behavior of Hurricane-Protection Infrastructure in New Orleans Paul F. Mlakar Rebuilding Electrical Infrastructure along the Gulf Coast: A Case Study Billy Ball Evacuation Planning and Engineering for Hurricane Katrina Brian Wolshon New Orleans and the Wetlands of Southern Louisiana Robert G. Dean Restoring Coastal Louisiana: Planning without a National Water Policy Gerald E. Galloway Promoting the technological welfare of the nation by marshalling the knowledge and insights of eminent members of the engineering profession. The BRIDGE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING Craig R. Barrett, Chair Wm. A. Wulf, President Sheila E. Widnall, Vice President W. Dale Compton, Home Secretary George Bugliarello, Foreign Secretary William L. Friend, Treasurer Editor in Chief (interim): George Bugliarello Managing Editor: Carol R. Arenberg Production Assistant: Penelope Gibbs The Bridge (USPS 551-240) is published quarterly by the National Academy of Engineering, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC. Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring 2006 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Bridge, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418. Papers are presented in The Bridge on the basis of general interest and time- liness. They reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily the position of the National Academy of Engineering. The Bridge is printed on recycled paper. © 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. A complete copy of The Bridge is available in PDF format at http://www.nae.edu/TheBridge. Some of the articles in this issue are also available as HTML documents and may contain links to related sources of information, multimedia files, or other content. The Volume 36, Number 1 • Spring 2006 BRIDGE LINKING ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY Editor’s Note 3 The Aftermath of Katrina George Bugliarello Features 5Toxic and Contaminant Concerns Generated by Hurricane Katrina Danny D. Reible, Charles N. Haas, John H. Pardue, and William J. Walsh Decisions about rebuilding are based more on the potential for reflooding than on the overall health of the New Orleans area. 14 The Behavior of Hurricane-Protection Infrastructure in New Orleans Paul F. Mlakar The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is analyzing what went wrong (and right) during and after Hurricane Katrina. 21 Rebuilding Electrical Infrastructure along the Gulf Coast: A Case Study Billy Ball A proactive approach to disaster preparation is crucial to disaster recovery. 27 Evacuation Planning and Engineering for Hurricane Katrina Brian Wolshon The evacuation of New Orleans had some unprecedented successes . and glaring failures. 35 New Orleans and the Wetlands of Southern Louisiana Robert G. Dean The greatest uncertainties for wetland restoration will be political will and stakeholder response. 43 Restoring Coastal Louisiana: Planning without a National Water Policy Gerald E. Galloway No policies or standards are in place for individual water sectors or for water resources as a whole. NAE News and Notes 50 NAE Newsmakers 51 Class of 2006 Elected 56 Report of the Foreign Secretary (continued on next page) The BRIDGE 57 NAE Regional Meeting on Energy in the 21st Century 58 Tri-national Meeting on Industrial Competitiveness in North America 59 Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellows 59 Call for Awards Nominations 60 Message from the Vice President and Chair of the Development Committee 61 2005 Private Contributions 67 Calendar of Meetings and Events 67 In Memoriam 69 Publications of Interest The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self- The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the author- to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility ity of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional char- has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on ter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, The National Research Council was organized by the National under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its adminis- science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering tration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal gov- accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the ernment. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engi- Council has become the principal operating agency of both the neering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages edu- National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engi- cation and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of neering in providing services to the government, the public, and the engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered of Engineering. jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respec- tively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org SPRING 2006 3 Editor’s Note The Aftermath of Katrina “think globally, but act locally,” a major disaster may be This is the second issue of local, but the response must be global. The Bridge in the past year Engineers and scientists must not only provide much devoted to disasters caused needed expertise, but must also advocate decision mak- by forces in our environ- ing based on dispassionate assessments and realistic ment. The summer 2005 long-range views. The papers in this issue address some issue was focused on the aspects of the Katrina disaster and suggest policies for Indian Ocean tsunami, and mitigating the consequences of future disasters. Brian this issue is focused on Hur- Wolshon, a traffic engineer at Louisiana State Univer- ricane Katrina. As human sity, analyzes the evacuation of New Orleans and demonstrates the importance of proactive traffic man- George Bugliarello is President populations continue to agement to facilitate large-scale evacuations. Billy Ball, Emeritus and University Professor grow in areas vulnerable senior vice president of transmission planning and oper- at Polytechnic University in Brook- to earthquakes, volcanic ations for Southern Company, describes the restoration lyn, New York, and foreign secre- eruptions, tsunamis, floods, fires, and landslides, we can of the multistate electric-power infrastructure in the tary of NAE. expect that the effects of dis- Gulf region and suggests improvements in emergency asters will also be more severe. In the face of enormous planning for the future. Robert Dean, a coastal engi- natural forces, prevention is seldom possible, but with neer, describes wetland formation and the history of rational planning and a collective will, we can mitigate wetland-system losses in the Mississippi Delta and out- damages and losses. lines some options for future wetlands restoration. He The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami showed the conse- argues not only for restoration of the Louisiana wetlands quences of gaps in global warning systems, the absence system, but also for a program to identify vulnerable of local warning systems and evacuation plans, and areas throughout the country. inadequate or nonexistent codes and regulations to Gerald Galloway, an expert in water policy, decries strengthen structures and infrastructures. The tsunami the lack of a national policy for coastal zones to provide also showed the enormous challenges of providing relief direction for coordinated long-term plans for the Gulf after a disaster has struck. Before Katrina, New Orleans region. Paul Mlakar of the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- had trusted in its flawed containment structures and its neers (USACE) describes the progress of the USACE good luck to withstand the most powerful hurricanes. task force analyzing the behavior of hurricane protec- The lack of coordinated city, state, and federal policies tion structures. Danny Reible (an environmental undermined emergency responses to Katrina and the health engineer) and his colleagues describe the toxics evacuation of New Orleans, which left hundreds of and contaminants in the floodwaters that inundated thousands stranded. New Orleans in the wake of Katrina and discuss the Many important lessons have been learned from these pros and cons of various criteria for making uniform, and other disasters. First, realistic plans must be made equitable