Hurricane Alley

Historic Preservation Campaign Launched
EDR Compiles Toxic Site Data
Shaw Employs Local Subcontractors
Quanta Announces Expected Impact

As the floodwaters from hurricanes Rita and Katrina receded, help poured in. Following is a sampling of disaster-related news sent to Brownfield News.

Historic Preservation Campaign Launched

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is launching a major campaign to help ensure the preservation of historic buildings, neighborhoods and communities in the Gulf Coast region. National Trust is sending survey teams with professional expertise in architecture, construction, history and preservation to the region and is working with federal, state and local governments to develop and refine tools to facilitate reconstruction and help prevent future disasters of this kind.

The Trust will also launch a major effort to educate the public about the importance of the historic resources of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. To support the campaign, the organization is creating the National Trust Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund.

EDR Compiles Toxic Site Data

Environmental Data Resources Inc. (EDR), a national provider of environmental risk management information, has produced a white paper that addresses the environmental hazards in Gulf Coast region and the near- and long-term impacts on the environmental site assessment market. It includes maps of sites contained in their databases of federal, state and local government agency records that could have an environmental impact in the regions affected by the storms.

EDR reports that the geographic region that fell in the crosshairs of both hurricanes is one of the most environmentally hazardous regions in the United States. Louisiana is responsible for producing one-quarter of the nation’s petrochemicals, and New Orleans is home to major oil refining and production hubs, chemical manufacturing complexes and other environmentally risky operations, making the area particularly vulnerable to widespread contamination. The report can be downloaded from the EDR Web site.

Shaw Employs Local Subcontractors

The Shaw Group Inc. announced that over 80 percent of its subcontractors currently working in Louisiana on hurricane recovery and rebuilding efforts are Louisiana-based businesses. In addition, approximately 62 percent of its subcontractors are small businesses as classified under the U.S. Department of Labor regulations and nearly 30 percent of the small businesses are African-American, women-owned, or other ”disadvantaged” enterprises.

Shaw is under contract to provide hurricane recovery and rebuilding activities in Louisiana for FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They are charged with removing the floodwaters in the City of New Orleans and providing temporary roofing and housing throughout Louisiana.

Quanta Announces Expected Impact

Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd. announced that its total estimated retained net losses from hurricanes Katrina and Rita are expected to be in the ranges of approximately $40 to $50 million and approximately $2 to $8 million, respectively. These net losses take into account the receipt of anticipated recoverable amounts under reinsurance and retrocessional agreements and the effects of reinstatement premiums. However, Quanta admits these figures may not be accurate.
Quanta reports, “Our estimated losses are attributable to our property reinsurance, technical risk property insurance and marine, technical risk and aviation reinsurance business lines. They are derived from a review of our potential exposure to these events and are not based on actual reported losses.” BFN