Monday afternoon, Congressman Steve Scalise took a tour of Slidell with Mayor Ben Morris to see first hand how the city has done since Hurricane Katrina.

“There are real signs of progress here,” Scalise said. “I’m glad to see this.”

While Morris showed Scalise the renovated City Hall, they both talked about what still needed to be done to protect the citizens of Slidell and St. Tammany Parish. Both agreed that storm protection is their top priority.

Slidell Mayor Ben Morris, left, tells Congressman Steve Scalise about Slidell’s struggles to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

Scalise said that the U.S. Corps of Engineers has proceeded with a plan to protect the area for a 100-year flood, but nothing has been done to ensure the community’s safety in case of a Category 5 hurricane.

Morris agreed. “We need flood protection. I have major issues with the Corps. They give a lot of excuses, and the Northshore has gotten zero.”

Morris was echoing Parish President Kevin Davis, who wrote a scathing letter earlier this month to Scalise and Sens. David Vitter and Mary Landrieu, asking them why the parish has been forgotten by the federal government.

“I agree with the letter,” Scalise said. “There is Katrina fatigue in Washington, and we both want to see it end.”

He said that there are two priorities that must be addressed to protect the Northshore. First there has to be a way to keep storm surge from entering Lake Pontchartrain and inundating the coast of St. Tammany.

Then there has to be real work on coastal restoration to keep storm surges from getting too big.

For the former, Scalise and others have proposed a weir system across the Rigolets and Chef Pass to stop the surge. However, he said the Corps is still formulating plans, which Morris and Davis said is wasting time and money.

Scalise said that he will have to bring the matter to the attention of the White House.

“President Obama has not delivered the money he promised during his campaign,” Scalise said.

In Congress, Scalise said he is working on the Disaster Recovery Improvement Act, which would alter parts of the Stafford Act, and would cut a lot of FEMA red tape so communities could recover faster.

He is also working on the Water Resources Development Act, which would contain the Corp’s plans for dealing with storm surge and wetland restoration.

Morris told Scalise that he is not waiting for federal help to build a levee in the southern part of Slidell. He said, the parish and Slidell are working together to build a levee behind First Baptist Church of Pontchartrain Drive that would help keep floodwaters our of several subdivisions just north of the church.

“That is not a Corps issue,” Morris said. We’re doing it ourselves. If the Corps did it, it would take five years of studying before they did anything.”

Even though flood control is still on everybody’s mind, Scalise said he was impressed with how Slidell has made a comeback.

“The mayor has been tenacious,” the congressman said.

Morris said, “The city has come back quite well.” He pointed out all the new municipal buildings being constructed, and that financially, Slidell was on solid ground.

He also mentioned that Slidell just won the Gold Award from the National League of Cities for Slidell’s arts program.

“We won that, and we are still in recovery. That’s not bad,” Morris said.