Gulf Restoration Network

United for a Healthy Gulf

A Closer Look at Dispersants

Dispersants, like Corexit 9500/9527, are a mixture of solvents, surfactants and other unknowns that...

NEW PHOTOS: BP Contractors Doing More to Harm than Help Wildlife?

As the BP deepwater drilling disaster stretches into its second month, the wildlife impacts are...

A Real Solution for Fixing the MMS

Recently, the Department of Interior split what was the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into two...

BP's Drilling Disaster: An Anonymous Letter from the Gulf

The letter below just showed up in my in-box. I thought it was a powerful testimony to the...

Tracking BP's oil near Barataria Bay

Last Friday, Gulf Restoration Network staff joined shrimpers Clint Guidry and Glenn J. Poc...

A Closer Look at Dispersants
Friday, 04 June 2010 06:17
NEW PHOTOS: BP Contractors Doing More to Harm than Help Wildlife?
Sunday, 27 June 2010 13:18
A Real Solution for Fixing the MMS
Friday, 02 July 2010 09:35
BP's Drilling Disaster: An Anonymous Letter from the Gulf
Saturday, 10 July 2010 13:06
Tracking BP's oil near Barataria Bay
Monday, 12 July 2010 11:33

LANDMARK RULING: Corps Negligence Responsible for Katrina Flooding

Blog - Corps Reform

Thursday, 19 November 2009 08:12

In a ruling that may have far-reaching consequences, a federal judge has determined that Army Corps negligence in maintaining the Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet is responsible for flooding that occurred in parts of the city during Katrina.

Specifically, the judge cited the lack of action by the Corps to counter the widening of the canal, which created an even larger "hurricane highway" for storm surge; the failure to maintain the canal also eroded the bank on which levees sat, allowing them to slump under their own weight; and the failure to properly maintain the channel allowed more saltwater to move into the marsh destroying the wetlands that buffer levees and protect the city.

Read the stories:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2009/11/post_16.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/us/19orleans.html?_r=3
http://www.wwltv.com/news/Federal-court--70421627.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1119/p02s20-usgn.html

And many more:
http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=doZYe9ExMy6I4DMdHB4zDUW1DrtEM

The fight over liability will continue, potentially all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but this ruling validates what New Orleanians have know for a long time - Katrina was a man-made disaster.

No matter how long it takes for this court battle to be resolved, restoring the wetlands destroyed by MR-GO, along with implementing large-scale restoration projects to create a sustainable Louisiana coast, must be a top priority immediately.

GRN and our conservation partners were instrumental in convincing Congress to order the closing of the Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet, and we continue to call on the Corps to restore the 27,000 acres of wetlands the channel destroyed. You can help by taking action today.

Dan Favre is the GRN Campaign Organizer.