"Adviser: No Federal Promise on La. Levees"

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The White House's top hurricane-relief adviser said Tuesday he has not decided whether the federal government should pay to make New Orleans' levees stronger than they were before Katrina.

Donald Powell declined to say how long it would take before a decision is made.

Katrina, a Category 4 storm, surged through the city's levees at numerous points when it struck three months ago, killing more than 1,000 people.

Powell said he is gathering information from local and state officials and will eventually recommend to the Bush administration whether the levees should be strengthened to protect against more powerful Category 4 or Category 5 storms.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20051130/D8E6HCUG2.html