08:55 AM CDT on Monday, September 5, 2005

FEMA confirmed Sunday that they will finally meet with Parish officials Monday around noon regarding aid for the cleaning and rebuilding of St. Bernard Parish. The contingent will include representatives of the EPA and the Corps of Engineers. FEMA is in a position to provide millions of dollars in aid to compensate St. Bernard Parish for disaster related expenses.

Senator Boasso personally drove one of two 18 wheelers loaded with supplies destined for St. Bernard today.

The generators from the Department of Homeland Security are at Keysler Air Force Base. They should be delivered tomorrow.

Senator Boasso and Representative Hutter confirmed that Governor Blanco, Senator Landrieu, and Senator Vitter personally toured the area today. They have all pledged to work hard to help St. Bernard Parish.

The pumping stations are running and the water is continuing to recede. For example, the level in the 3600 block of Judy Drive is approximately 4-5 feet. St. Bernard Highway is almost completely dry, except for the area by the truck stop in Arabi, which still has approximately 2-3 feet of water.

Just about everything on the north side of Judge Perez is still flooded, ranging from no water at Judge Perez and ranging to approximately 5-6 feet at Genie Street.

Two Acadian Ambulance Service ambulances arrived today with several EMT’s and medical supplies.

Several hundred National Guard soldiers are scheduled to arrive in St. Bernard tomorrow to relieve the hard working St. Bernard Parish deputies and Parish Government officials and employees that have been working tirelessly to rescue as many stranded St. Bernard residents as possible.

There have been several rumors of looting in the Parish, particularly in the Violet area. Sheriff Stephens has assured me that these rumors are absolutely false. The Sheriff’s Office is working hard to ensure that St. Bernard is safe during the clean-up and rebuilding process.

Murphy Oil is working to contain and clean-up the crude oil spill. The spill is in the Judge Perez Drive area and extends west to around Palmisano Boulevard. They will send an update on the progress tomorrow.