Judge: Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding

Discussion

November 18, 2009

Anonymous The Herald Bulletin Wed Nov 18, 2009, 09:32 PM EST

By CAIN BURDEAU,

Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval sided with five residents and one business who argued the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. He said, however, the corps couldn't be held liable for the flooding of eastern New Orleans, where one of the plaintiffs lived.

Duval awarded the plaintiffs $720,000, or about $170,000 each, but the decision could eventually make the government vulnerable to a much larger payout. The ruling should give more than 100,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities a better shot at claiming billions of dollars in damages.

Joe Bruno, one of the lead plaintiffs lawyer, said the ruling underscored the Army Corps' long history of failure to properly protect the New Orleans region.

"It's high time we look at the way these guys do business and do a full re-evaluation of the way it does business," Bruno said.

The corps referred calls seeking comment to the Justice Department. The corps had argued that it is immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system, but the judge allowed the case to go forward.

Many in New Orleans have argued that Katrina, which struck the region Aug. 29, 2005, was a manmade disaster caused by the Army Corps' failure to maintain the levee system protecting the city.

The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet is a shipping channel dug in the 1960s as a short-cut between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans.

Text Only

National News

Gov't to carmakers: Harness dashboard technology
Carmakers should design potentially distracting dashboard technology so it's automatically disabled while the vehicle is in motion, federal safety officials said Thursday.

February 16, 2012
Poll question for Thursday, Feb. 16
Vote daily in The Herald Bulletin poll. Today's poll question can be found at the bottom of the homepage on the right side.

February 16, 2012
GM records its highest profit ever: $7.6 billion
General Motors earned its highest profit ever last year.

February 16, 2012
Boy testifies at grandfather's child abuse trial
A 9-year-old boy testified Wednesday that his grandfather hit him in the face, causing his nose to bleed, and kicked him and his two brothers during a pair of miles-long hikes at the Grand Canyon last summer.

February 15, 2012
No cussing in class for teachers, lawmaker says
A teacher's role may be to expand a student's vocabulary, but one Arizona lawmaker wants to make sure that doesn't include four-letter words.

February 15, 2012
Defiant Iran claims major steps in nuclear fuel
In defiant swipes at its foes, Iran said Wednesday it is dramatically closer to mastering the production of nuclear fuel even as the U.S. weighs tougher pressures and Tehran's suspected shadow war with Israel brings probes far beyond the Middle East.

February 15, 2012
Human and humanoid robot shake hands in space first
Astronauts and robots have united in space with a healthy handshake.

February 15, 2012
Visit offers little insight into next China leader
Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (She JIN'-ping) is assuring American business leaders that Beijing welcomes U.S. efforts to assert influence in the Asia-Pacific region, but says Washington must also respect the interests and concerns of China in its own neighborhood.

February 15, 2012
House leaders praise emerging payroll tax cut deal
Congressional leaders of both parties praised an emerging deal Wednesday to extend a payroll tax cut and extra jobless benefits through 2012, but cautioned that bargainers still had to nail down final details.

February 15, 2012
US 'very closely' watching Syrian chemical weapons
The U.S. and its allies are closely monitoring Syria's stockpiles of chemical arms and portable anti-aircraft missiles, a State Department official says, amid concerns that the country's unconventional weapons could fall into the hands of terrorist or militant groups while the 11-month-old uprising continues.

February 15, 2012
More National News Headlines

National News

Search Results

Discussion

Judge: Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding

Site Map

Contact Us