US Outlines Plan To Buy Gulf Coast Homes

A federal plan to buy thousands of flood-prone homes on Mississippi's hurricane-battered coast is shaping up to be far more modest than many residents had feared. In September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stunned a gathering of homeowners in Bay St. Louis, Miss., by announcing that up to 17,000 properties could be bought and converted into wetlands or other public uses as part of an ambitious coastal protection program.

But in an interview this week, a Corps official said buying out around 3,000 homes over five years is a more "realistic" proposal for the Corps to present to Congress later this year. Susan Rees, manager of the Corps' Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program, also stressed that any federal buyouts of "repetitively damaged" properties would be voluntary for homeowners and limited to areas at the highest risk of flooding.

Coastal officials and business leaders have expressed concern that widespread buyouts could stymie rebuilding efforts, drain tax revenues and strain municipal resources. "I believe their initial proposal wasn't going to get the support it needed to present it with a unified front in Washington," said Bay St. Louis Mayor Eddie Favre, whose city lost more than 70% of its homes and businesses during Katrina.

Rees blamed the outcry on a misunderstanding. "We never proposed that we were going to buy out all 17,000 to start out with. What we said was there were 17,000 homes in the highest hazard areas," she said. Rees said the Corps isn't scaling back its initial plans or retreating in the face of controversy. "It's more about the financial reality," she said.

A more detailed draft of the Corps plan is scheduled to be completed in June. Rees expects the Corps to submit a formal proposal to Congress in the early fall of 2008. Congress must agree to fund any home buyouts.