Levees.Org

Demand the 8/29 Investigation Act!

By following the simple steps below, you can - with a click of a mouse -
write your members of Congress and demand the 8/29 Investigation Act,
a truly independent and truly complete analysis of the flood
protection failures in metro New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

You can edit the letter if you wish....

February 09, 2010

Subject:

The recent ruling by US District Judge Stanwood Duval is further reason to support the 8/29 Investigation Act.

Judge Duval determined that the US Army Corps of Engineers "squandered millions of dollars in building a levee system ... which was known to be inadequate by the Corps' own calculations."

Amazingly, Duval, due to an 80 year old law, was compelled to hold the Corps harmless.  The Flood Control of 1928, said Duval, had the end result of negating incentives for good government workmanship and creating an environment where "gross incompetence receives the same treatment as a simple mistake."

Meanwhile, the integrity and independence of the federally led investigation, the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) is under scrutiny because it was convened and managed by the US Army Corps, the sole agency responsible for the design and construction of Greater New Orleans' levee system.  Such an investigation is a conflict of interest.   Further, troubling allegations have been made by a high ranking member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) who has charged that staffers at the Corps and the ASCE colluded to hide the mistakes of the Corps in the New Orleans flooding and intimidate anyone who tried to intervene.

Finally, since the Army Corps-sponsored report's findings were released in June 2006, two private independent levee investigation teams (the National Science Foundation/U.C. Berkeley and Team Louisiana) have criticized the report as both incomplete and technically inaccurate. All of this while the IPET's potentially flawed findings are being used to repair and fortify the south Louisiana flood protection system which protects the lives and property of 1.5 million people.

Given the stakes, an objective irrefutable non-controversial analysis is needed to find out how to move forward and rebuild metro New Orleans' flood protection.  Taxpayers need a full return on the investment dollars that Congress authorizes and the citizens of south Louisiana need the best protection possible.

End the controversy.  Please support the 8/29 Investigation Act.

We will add your signature from the information you provide.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email*

Street*

Street 2

City*

State/Province*

Zip/Postal Code*

Send an Email