When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in late August, most of the attention was focused on New Orleans, and rightly so. However, the state of Mississippi was also hard hit and, while not a regular fixture on the nightly news, the state’s coastal counties are trying to rebuild.
As part of the recovery and rebuilding efforts, Gov. Haley Barbour hosted a conference call in November with supervisors from George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone counties. Discussed were long-term recovery plans and the governor’s role in assisting in post-Katrina efforts, particularly on land-use planning.
The counties were urged to establish strong building codes and to delay any non-essential permitting until these land-use practices are in place.
“Right now, many coastal counties are under a lot of pressure to issue permits to rebuild in devastated areas and to open up land for new developments,” Barbour said. “But it’s important for us to remember that public safety and welfare is our first priority. I believe we should not put people and property at risk by building back too quickly or using out-of-date rules, building standards and sub-standard materials.”
Barbour offered the counties assistance for long-term recovery, including:
Ø Funding from the Mississippi Development Authority for comprehensive land-use and recovery planning.
Ø A technical assistance team, organized by the governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, state agencies, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that will work with local county teams to develop a master plan for each county.
Ø Coordination from the commission and governor’s office to identify financial resources to implement each county plan.
Ø Long-term help from the state during the implementation of each county’s recovery plan that works side-by-side with the Board of Supervisors.
Ø Barbour also emphasized that he is prepared to immediately provide these six counties with expert planners to assist them during this interim period at no cost.
Returning to Normal
In late October, for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit, NASA’s Stennis Space Center returned to its main line of business, testing space shuttle main engines. Engineers successfully test-fired an engine for 520 seconds. That’s the length of time a shuttle takes to reach orbit.
Stennis Center Director Bill Parsons, assigned as the senior NASA official for Katrina recovery and relief, is leading the effort to work with state and federal agencies stationed at the center and at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to help restore a sense of normalcy as soon as possible. The engine test is an indication that Stennis Space Center and the region are working toward that goal.
After Hurricane Katrina demolished nearby municipalities in Mississippi and Louisiana, employees formed volunteer teams to help each other and members of the community clean up and repair their homes, or for the thousands who lost their homes find a place to live. About 25 percent of Stennis’ 4,500 employees lost their homes, and the majority of employees had varying degrees of damage.
Elsewhere in the state, however, it’s business as usual.
SeverCorr recently broke ground at the future site of its new $700 million mini-mill, located in Columbus, in the northeastern part of the state. Company officials expect construction of the 1.2 million square foot mill to be completed by early 2007, and the facility should be operational by the third quarter of 2007.
The facility will produce high quality steel products for the automotive industry and is expected to create 450 jobs.
