As the U.S. marks the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the White House Council on Environmental Quality has announced the formation of a new federal interagency task force to oversee the massive economic and environmental restoration work that still remains for the Gulf Coast.
The task force, announced on Aug. 26 by CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley in an interview with Bloomberg News, is something environmentalists and critics of the Army Corps of Engineers have been seeking since Katrina hit. CEQ so far hasn’t spelled out precisely what the new body will do, but observers hope it will integrate the federal response and accelerate the substantial construction work that lies ahead for the region.