Levee lawsuit a wash
Katrina Levee Lawsuit Dismissed
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saying his hands were tied by law, a federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina, but rebuked the agency for failing to protect the city.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval ruled Wednesday that the Corps should be held immune over failures in drainage canals that caused much of the flooding of New Orleans in August 2005. He cited the Flood Control Act of 1928, which protects the federal government from lawsuits when flood control projects like levees break.
The judge issued a stinging condemnation of the Corps, saying the agency “cast a blind eye” in protecting New Orleans and “squandered millions of dollars in building a levee system … which was known to be inadequate by the Corps’ own calculations.”
But, Duval said, “it is not within the Court’s power to address the wrongs committed. It is hopefully within the citizens of the United States’ power to address the failures of our laws and agencies.“
What country you living in, buddy?
February 1st, 2008 at 8:46 am
Dear Sirs:
The law is what the law says. Thusly, the law should be changed accordingly and that requires the proverbial Act of Congress. Such an Act could and should start at the local level and then move upwards. This is a good start: http://www.levees.org though it’s easy to hit such a big target. It would also be appropriate to review the cost-sharing requirements and responsibilities between the Federal and Local sponsors of any such projects re: the various Flood Control Acts and Water Resources Development Acts passed over the years. It would also be appropriate for the following books to be prescribed as mandatory reading for all citizens: “Dams and Other Disasters,” by Arthur E. Morgan; and , particularly “Rising Tide,” by John M. Barry. Thank you very much for your time and assistance.