Incompetence and fraud on the part of the US Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors are the reason for 95% of the damage to New Orleans after Katrina.
So far the Corps has evaded any financial liability because of a legislative loophole that exempts them from any damage caused by their flood control projects.
But guess what?
The infamous MRGO has NOTHING to do with flood control. It was a NAVIGATION project.
Therefore, there is NO IMMUNITY for the Corps on damage from this source.
What does this mean?
There may be justice yet for New Orleans and vicinity. It will come late, but it’s looking now like it will come.
Details:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers can be held liable for flood damage caused by a navigation channel known as a “hurricane highway” because it allegedly funneled Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge into the city, a federal judge ruled Friday.
The Corps of Engineers argued that channel is part of the city’s flood control system, so the corps is immune from liability. Under federal law, the federal government cannot be sued if something goes wrong with a flood control project such as a levee, reservoir or dam.
Judge Stanwood Duval dismissed that argument. He said the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, or MRGO, was clearly a ship channel and not a flood control project.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers said Duval’s decision is a victory for homeowners, who have suffered a series of setbacks in their efforts to hold the government legally responsible for storm damage.”
