Federal judge rules Corps of Engineers liable for flood damage
Levees.Org
November 19, 2009
Dear Patrick
Federal Judge Stanwood Duval ruled late Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' mismanagement of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was directly responsible for flood damage of homes in St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
The New York Times wrote "It was the first time that the government has been held liable for any of the flooding that inundated the New Orleans area after Aug. 29, 2005, vindicating the long-held contention of many in the region that the flooding was far more than an act of God."
Plaintiff attorneys Joe Bruno and Pierce O'Donnell said they expect to travel to Washington, D.C., as early as next week to try to convince members of the administration of President Barack Obama and members of Congress to consider revisiting requests for compensation by New Orleans-area residents in both the areas covered by the decision and in other areas flooded by corps-related failures of levees.
The corps allowed the channel to attack the levees in three ways, Duval said, allowing the levees to slump under their own weight, failing to armor the channel's banks against ship wakes and allowing saltwater to exacerbate the loss of wetlands throughout the area.
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Click here for the NYTimes story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/us/19orleans.html?_r=2
You can see the judgement and opinion here.
http://www.wwltv.com/news/Federal-court--70421627.html
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