The opening salvo in Mr. Tremaine's rambling letter (Sept. 28) requires a response.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers builds only what the U.S. Congress authorizes. If the Congress authorized a federal levee system to protect up to a category 3 hurricane with storm surge, then the Corps could not legally design or build protective works using category 4 criteria. Don't blame the Army Corps of Engineers. The fact that we even try to protect a city of half-a-million people below sea level is pure pork barrel politics.

Secondly, Mr. Tremaine fails to distinguish between emergency response and subsequent disaster relief. Emergency response falls unequivocally to local and state authorities. They know loud and clear what "first responders" means. Hopefully, when all the finger-pointing stops, the public will have a balanced understanding of the respective roles of local, state, and federal entities in the face of a natural disaster, not to mention one's personal role.

I am reminded of an anecdote told in a training session for emergency management. During a flood disaster in one of our western states, where the rule of law is sometimes tempered and the federal government is, at best, tolerated, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official boldly entered the county's emergency operations command room and announced that he was now in charge. The sheriff diverted his attention from the on-going emergency long enough to greet Mr. FEMA, look him in the eye, and state matter-of-factly that he, the sheriff, was in charge. Mr. FEMA countered, "No, you don't understand. I'm the Federal Government; I'm in charge." At which point the no-nonsense sheriff took a deep breath, unholstered his side arm, and declared, "No. you don't understand. I'm in charge - and I'm locking you up."

Relative roles. Finally, let us not forget that this was a natural disaster. hurricanes form. Tides surge. Rains drench. Levees break. The hurricane, storm surge, rain, and levees are neither Democratic nor Republican.

J.W. Leonard

Junction