River Flood Plain

Re “A River Doesn’t Run Through It,” editorial, Dec. 26:

It is apparent that The Times does not care that the cities of Compton, Lynwood, South Gate, Paramount, Carson, Long Beach, Lakewood, Bellflower, Pico Rivera and Downey are facing economic ruin because of mandatory federal flood plain construction restrictions and flood insurance requirements. You care more about catering to the Los Angeles environmental lobby than you do about the hard-working citizens of Southeast Los Angeles County. It is interesting that the Friends of the Los Angeles River is named in the editorial but not the involved flood plain communities.

The Times apparently puts more stock in unnamed “critics” of “FEMA’s risk analysis” than you do in the expertise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and you conveniently ignore USC’s Planning Institute study, which demonstrates the loss of 120,000 jobs and the diversion of $21.2 billion worth of economic output and investment from the 10 flood plain communities because of the implementation of flood plain regulations. Apparently, the potential loss of life and $2.1 billion worth of environmental damage from an actual flood is not as important as “worthy infrastructure projects such as the Alameda Corridor.”

GERALD M. CATON

City Manager, Downey