Tuesday,
February 13, 2007
Congress Poised to Make Over the Corps of Engineers
Source: American Rivers
“The history of the Corps is littered with projects that range from dumb to destructive to downright deadly,” says Rebecca Wodder, President of American Rivers. “Millions of Americans live in the shadow of Corps projects whose failure could threaten their lives. We saw this threat first hand after Hurricane Katrina; unfortunately that was just one of many projects bungled by the Corps.”
The levees and floodwalls that failed in New Orleans were not overwhelmed by Hurricane Katrina. Instead, their design and construction were so fundamentally flawed that they simply collapsed in the face of a storm they easily should have withstood. Corps projects also destroyed vital coastal wetlands that could have helped protect the city by reducing the Hurricane’s storm surge. More than a year after Katrina, much of New Orleans remains in ruins.
“Katrina showed every American just how dangerous the problems inside the Corps are,” says Melissa Samet, Senior Director for Water Resources at American Rivers. “Congress came close last year to enacting reforms to address these problems, but they didn’t cross the finish line. For the protection of all of us and of our environment, Congress must follow Senator Feingold’s and Senator McCain’s lead and pass their reforms into law.”
This vital legislation, supported by a broad coalition of conservation and taxpayer organizations, would require the Corps to:
- Modernize project planning. The Corps’ planning guidelines have not been updated in more than twenty years, and are woefully out of date. The current guidelines promote the destruction of storm-tempering wetlands, allow the Corps to build projects that encourage development in high risk areas and fail to adequately address potential loss of life. The Act would require an update of the Corps’ planning guidelines to ensure that Corps projects protect communities and rivers and wetlands that provide natural flood protection and ecological benefits.
- Ensure sound projects. Corps projects are not based on the best available science, economics, or engineering and the Corps often ignores the views of the public, civic leaders and scientists. The Act would require outside independent review of costly or controversial Corps projects to ensure that they are properly designed and protect the environment. The Act would also establish outside review of the detailed engineering plans for flood protection projects whose failure could pose a risk to public safety and welfare.
- Mitigate unavoidable impacts to rivers and wetlands. The Corps often does not mitigate the impacts of its projects, adding to the loss of healthy systems that provide the first line of defense against flooding, are critical to fish and wildlife and are essential for a vibrant economy. The Act would require the Corps to meet the same mitigation requirements as any other private party or governmental entity.
- Focus Corps projects on national priorities. Corps project planning and construction are not prioritized to address the nation’s most pressing needs. The Act would require Corps projects to meet national priorities and would provide guidance on setting those priorities. The Act would reinstate the Water Resources Council to provide guidance on prioritizing Corps projects and to assess the nation’s vulnerability to flood damages. To better protect communities from flooding, the Act would require that Corps projects avoid the unwise use of floodplains, and work to restore and maintain natural systems that provide the first line of defense against flooding.
Contact:
Garrett Russo; Press Secretary,
(202) 347-7550
Melissa Samet; Senior Director Water Resources, (415) 482-8150