Many St. Tammany residents came away from a public meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday night at Northshore Harbor Center feeling frustrated and angry.

More than 1,000 people showed up to hear the Corps present their different proposals for keeping the Northshore safe from flooding and hurricanes. The Corps had six scenarios lumped together in the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Plan

The meeting, which was a standing-room-only gathering at 7 p.m., turned into an almost empty auditorium by 8 p.m. as residents left the meeting in droves, angry and frustrated that the Corps was not being direct with them. A lot of people were also upset because of the ground rules set up by the Corps. People had to write and submit their questions, which would be read by Corps representatives after their presentation. If all the questions were answered before 9 p.m., then people would be allowed to speak, but for only three minutes each. One of the meeting’s organizers, Eden Isle resident, John Faust had brought a lot of data on levees, flooding and floodgates that he wanted to talk about. He wouldn’t get the chance, and he was upset.

“We’re not being allowed to talk back. It’s just killing me,” Faust said.

Parish President Kevin Davis started off the meeting by reminding residents the Parish Council had voted to accept one alternative in the LaCPR plan. That was the construction of a combination structure that would have two large floodgates, or weirs at the Rigolets and Chef Pass, plus a line of levees stretching from New Orleans East all the way up to the Pearl River.

The idea of the plan is to keep rising water from a hurricane’s storm surge from entering Lake Pontchartrain and flooding the coastal areas of the parish, like Hurricane Katrina four years ago. Davis said it would take the involvement of all citizens to make the plan a reality.

“There will not be a decision by the end of this meeting, but we must make sure, we, the Corps and Congress are on the same page,” Davis said.

After a series of public meetings, the Corps’ New Orleans District will turn the LaCPR over to its superiors in Washington D.C., who then will submit it to the U.S. Congress, where a final decision is made on which plan will be carried out.

Corps spokesman Troy Constance proceeded to tell the audience how the Corps had come to their final proposals in the plan. There was a series of charts, figures and maps put up on a large screen.

Constance said that there would not be just one solution for the Northshore. However, when a solution was chosen, it “would not completely eliminate risk.”

He said that studies have shown that hurricanes “do not change the level of the lake appreciably,” and that building barrier islands and restoring marshlands could reduce the effect of a storm surge.

He said a survey conducted by the Corps showed that saving lives and not having an impact on the environment are the two biggest concerns of Northshore residents when it comes to reducing flooding.

He said that evacuating people as a solution is one way to accomplish both goals. But building structures such as levees and floodgates would accomplish the same result.

“Congress want something that falls in between these two alternatives,” Constance said.

The presentation did not impress the audience. They started to stream out of the auditorium when questions were being presented.

A local liability engineer Nicholas Gentile said, “All we want to know is when the project will start, when it will end, and how much it will cost. Everyday we wait is a chance for another Hurricane Katrina to happen.”

The stream of facts, figures and data did not impress Wayne and Naomi Hoss from Eden Isles.

“I am not stupid, but I am not an engineer,” Naomi Hoss said. “All those charts mean nothing to the average person. I just wanted to know what will be done.”

Davis tried to ease emotions near the end. He reminded everyone the Corps cannot chose the solution that it is up to Congress. But residents seemed to want to hear a solution and not proposals that might be used.

Even some of the elected officials at the meeting seemed to be frustrated.

“It’s time to get away from all the studies and tell the Corps to get to work now,” said Slidell Council President Richey Hursey. “We’ve talked enough, let’s get some flood protection.”

State Rep. Kevin Pearson R-Slidell said he had heard the Corps’ explanation, but it was time to start talking turkey.

“The people did not come here to hear this. They want to hear what the Corps is going to do,” Pearson said.

Faust was more blunt in his assessment of the presentation.

“All they did was present their methodology on how the plan was put together. What they told us is useless,” said Faust.

Pearson did see a silver lining though.

“This may get people to get up and push for the right solution,” he said.

The prevailing mood of people who left the Northshore Harbor Center was frustration over not getting concrete answers.

“I just want some protection,” Hoss said.