Environmentalist suit stopped New Orleans Levy Project - GoFuckYourself.com

spunkmaster · 09-11-2005, 10:22 PM

By Ralph Vartabedian and Peter Pae, Times Staff Writer
September 9, 2005
latimes.com

In the wake of Hurricane Betsy 40 years ago, Congress approved a massive hurricane barrier to protect New Orleans from storm surges that could inundate the city.

But the project, signed into law by President Johnson, was derailed in 1977 by an environmental lawsuit. Now the question is: Could that barrier have protected New Orleans from the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina?

"If we had built the barriers, New Orleans would not be flooded," said Joseph Towers, the retired chief counsel for the Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans district.

Tower's view is endorsed by a former key senator, along with academic experts, who say a hurricane barrier is the only way to control the powerful storm surges that enter Lake Pontchartrain and threaten the city. Other experts are less sure, saying the barrier would have been no match for Katrina.

The project was stopped in its tracks when an environmental lawsuit won a federal injunction on the grounds that the Army's environmental impact statement was flawed. By the mid-1980s, the Corps of Engineers abandoned the project.

The project faced formidable opposition not only from environmentalists but from regional government officials outside of New Orleans who argued that the barriers would choke commerce and harm marine life in ecologically sensitive Lake Pontchartrain.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...

Doctor Dre · 09-11-2005, 10:34 PM

What was done ... was done

2257-Ben · 09-11-2005, 10:37 PM

Yeah.. and the fucking spotted owls have derailed all kinds of other necessary programs as well...

spunkmaster · 09-11-2005, 11:10 PM

Yea and now the spotted owls make nests on fucking telephone poles now so the enviros got us on that one big time ?

09-11-2005, 10:22 PM	#1
spunkmaster Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,052	Environmentalist suit stopped New Orleans Levy Project By Ralph Vartabedian and Peter Pae, Times Staff Writer September 9, 2005 latimes.com In the wake of Hurricane Betsy 40 years ago, Congress approved a massive hurricane barrier to protect New Orleans from storm surges that could inundate the city. But the project, signed into law by President Johnson, was derailed in 1977 by an environmental lawsuit. Now the question is: Could that barrier have protected New Orleans from the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina? "If we had built the barriers, New Orleans would not be flooded," said Joseph Towers, the retired chief counsel for the Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans district. Tower's view is endorsed by a former key senator, along with academic experts, who say a hurricane barrier is the only way to control the powerful storm surges that enter Lake Pontchartrain and threaten the city. Other experts are less sure, saying the barrier would have been no match for Katrina. The project was stopped in its tracks when an environmental lawsuit won a federal injunction on the grounds that the Army's environmental impact statement was flawed. By the mid-1980s, the Corps of Engineers abandoned the project. The project faced formidable opposition not only from environmentalists but from regional government officials outside of New Orleans who argued that the barriers would choke commerce and harm marine life in ecologically sensitive Lake Pontchartrain. (Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ... __________________

09-11-2005, 10:37 PM	#3
2257-Ben Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dinuba, CA Posts: 633	Yeah.. and the fucking spotted owls have derailed all kinds of other necessary programs as well... __________________ 2257-Ben www.2257ware.com The BEST, most compliant 2257 record-keeping software available. Period.

09-11-2005, 11:10 PM	#4
spunkmaster Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,052	Yea and now the spotted owls make nests on fucking telephone poles now so the enviros got us on that one big time ? __________________