I'd like to take a ride down there one day to take a look. What I have seen recently on the tv news coverage, it doesn't look good. Grand Isle as a full time residential community is on borrowed time. Between future hurricane exposures and what you stated above about the USACE, it won't be long. Only the wealthy who can self insure or simply roll the dice. The island is eroding too from storms. In 50 or 60 years, there may not be a GI period.Take a ride down to Grand Isle if you want to see what the future looks like in coastal communities. Those who had insurance have quickly rebuilt and those that took the chance to go without, have broken and unusable structures, or nothing left at all. In time, wealthy folk will buy it all up.
Something else to consider; THE USACE has stated they would not be fixing Grand Isle again if the island gets ripped apart again. Hell if it weren't for the oil industry, there would be no reason for the feds to fix ANY of that crap next time. If anyone is under the delusion they put that billion dollar elevated highway from Leeville to Fourchon so a few hundred people could get to the fishing camps after Katrina, you need to wake up!
If you own a home 0 to 60 miles from the LA coast line, you're going to be paying a lot more for insurance soon. If you have a mortgage, you have to have homeowners insure. If you live in a flood zone and have a mortgage, you will also have to have flood insurance. No matter the cost.