FEMA, in an e-mail, also said Sunday that Davis had asked that the agency pay $7,000 per acre per month for the property -- more than four times its value.

Since then, the e-mail said, Davis dropped his lease rate "to a reasonable monthly amount," and federal officials had nearly finalized a deal to put housing on the site, which can accommodate as many as 1,000 units.

"I do not own a construction company. I did not attempt to lease land to FEMA," Davis said Monday. "The only land I own is the lot my flooded home sits on. This is absurd.

I see FEMA is doing a much better job of disaster management than they had been. Now they're inventing them!