FEMA to pay aquarium back for fish
Reversing a decision that some found bureaucratically absurd, the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted $99,766 to a New Orleans aquarium that saved taxpayers a bundle by catching replacements for the fish it lost to Hurricane Katrina.
FEMA had said that the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas needed to buy the fish from commercial vendors, a method the agency said would cost $616,849 but would comply with disaster aid laws.
When aquarium staff went out and caught them for $99,766, FEMA denied their petition for reimbursement. Carlos J. Castillo, FEMA’s assistant director of disaster assistance, reversed the decision.
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