HumidCity

Dear Corps officials, (as well as government representatives, New Orleanians, and media representatives),

I am writing you to make a request. In light of the possible effects of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Gustav upon the Greater New Orleans area, I would ask that the Corps and its partners at LSU and the Universtity of North Carolina make public the results of storm surge model runs which are (or soon will be) created as part of the Lake Pontchartrain Forecast System (LPFS).

As I understand it, the Corps has contracted with UNC’s Institute of Marine Sciences (contracts W912P8-06-P-0334 (from 2006, for $279,117) and W912P8-08-P-0082 (from earlier in 2008, for $101,512)) and their partners at LSU to provide forecasts of surge levels within Lake Pontchartrain when tropical systems are approaching New Orleans. This enables the Corps to determine when to lower the gates at the three interim closure structures along the Lake Pontchartrain south shore. The system is explained on a few webpages at LSU:

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/site38.php

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~estrabd/LPFS/

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~estrabd/LPFS/distributed-lpfs.pdf

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~gallen/Preprints/CS_Allen07a.pre.pdf

In light of the Corps’ “12 Actions For Change,” specifically Action Number 9, “Effectively Communicate Risk,” it would be tremendous goodwill gesture to the public across the country to know what the Corps knows about the surge risk before the storm makes landfall.

Doing so would be in the same spirit that allows the National Hurricane Center and other organizations to make the results of hurricane track and intensity model runs available to public. Doing so allows government agencies and members of the public to plan more effectively, and allows the media to get more accurate information out to the public as they plan.

As part of your public outreach during the coming days, I urge you to upload the model results to your website so that everyone can be apprised of this vital information which will inform your decisions.

Best regards,
Matt McBride

Once more HumidCity is proud to syndicate the emails of engineer Matt McBride, the man who formerly helmed Fix The Pumps.

Dear New Orleanians,

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out an email about a report the Corps is holding back. It is the final report for the London Avenue canal load test, and it has been delayed for months. In fact the test took place last August. After I sent that email, I heard they are planning to release it before June 15th. We’ll see.

While members of the public and their appointed representatives on the East Bank Levee Authority cannot yet see the report, the Corps is all too content to trumpet the success of the test to their contractors and fellow employees.

Last week, at the Midwest Levee Conference in St. Louis, the lead Corps engineer and project manager from a Corps contractor for the load test gave an extensive presentation about the test. The Conference was co-sponsored by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). SAME is the Corps’ professional organization for their engineers - kind of their private clubhouse.

You can see the June 3rd presentation on the load test here:

All the presentations are available here.

What I find interesting are the following:

1) No mention of the the external peer review of the test is mentioned, nor of the Levee Board’s insistence on including testing for seepage effects (originally, the test was only going to measure whether the wall moved, not whether water would move underneath it). In fact there’s absolutely no information whatsoever on the locals’ key involvement in ensuring the test was properly vetted. The presentation gives the impression that the Corps did everything themselves, and that they should be congratulated (Actual bullet point from the last slide: “Test was a success. No water through the wall!“). The fact is they had to be pushed into the peer review on the test.

2) Page after page of actual test data are displayed. None of this data has been made available to the public in New Orleans.

3) The last line of the presentation is a laugher: “Detailed results are available for additional study to enhance the engineering understanding of I-wall performance.” Available to whom, precisely? Other Corps engineers and their contractors? What about making the results available to the public whom the Corps is supposedly protecting before they present them to their buddies?

This is just more evidence of the tin ear the Corps has when it comes to dealing with the public. There’s no way this presentation should have taken place before the report was released to the greater New Orleans community.

Matt

Once more HumidCity is proud to syndicate the emails of engineer Matt McBride, the man who formerly helmed Fix The Pumps.

Dear New Orleanians,

There have been hints coming out of the Corps for quite a while that the permanent pump stations at the lakefront would be delayed even further than their current 2012 completion date. I think I might have found something conclusive that shows that. I could be off, but you never know…

First, take a look at a schedule of projects the Corps showed at a small business contractors’ gathering on April 23rd (go to page 10):

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/ebs/SDVET/SDVET%20Presentations%20less%20SADBU.pdf

The line for permanent pump stations is somewhat jumbled, showing “pre-award” activities extending into the first quarter of 2009, but also showing construction beginning this fall, the third quarter of 2008. I believe the second line, showing construction, is the one that counts. It would seem that construction is anticipated to last 3.75 years, finishing up before June, 2012. This would be in line with most public statements from the Corps.

However, also in April the Corps placed a listing of all their hurricane protection contracts, including future ones, on their website:

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/hps/pdf/Upcoming_Contracts/Potential_Upcoming_Contracts_16_Apr_08.pdf

If you scroll to the bottom of page 3, you’ll see the listing for the contract for the permanent pump stations. It is shown as getting awarded in the 3rd calendar quarter of 2009. That would appear to be significantly later - possibly a year after what the other schedule shows. If one assumes the same duration of construction, then a year of delay at the start means a year of delay at the end.

The Corps has publicly promised the permanent pump stations would be done by the beginning of the 2012 hurricane season. However, if the very detailed April 16, 2008 schedule is to be believed, it would appear that:

1) That deadline has been pushed back a year

or

2) The Corps has figured out how to shave a year off the construction schedule.

There have been other subtle hints that the permanent pump stations might get delayed. They include:

- A solicitation issued last month for cranes at the current floodgates included an option for rental of those cranes through the entire 2012 hurricane season. If the permanent pump stations were to be in place by 2012, there would be no need for those cranes. Here’s the solicitation:

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=75973f5a51e052b17f21efe2c6b67698&tab=core&_cview=0

- Also, note Colonel Starkel’s hesitancy at the end of this June 1, 2008 interview on WWL-TV when asked when the permanent pump stations would be finished:

http://www.wwltv.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=250644

His exact words are “we’re looking about 2012.”

- Completion of the Individual Environmental Report for the stations has been repeatedly delayed, with an April public meeting pushed back to July. An article in the Times-Picayune last week mentioned that the report will be delayed again, likely meaning a further postponement of the July meeting (which was intended to outline the contents of the report).

- The Corps transferred most of the appropriated funds out of the permanent pump station project to pay for the Industrial Canal closure project (that contract was awarded in April). The pump station account is currently nearly empty. The replacement funds are tied up in the Emergency War Supplemental bill now wending its way through Congress. President Bush has vowed to veto that bill for reasons unrelated to the Corps funding. The Corps has said publicly that if they don’t have funds on October 1 of this year, projects (like the pump stations) would definitely get delayed.

- Finally, it took the Corps over a year to award the design-build contract for the Industrial Canal closure project. The permanent pump stations are of the same scale, and the Corps does not appear to have begun the bidding process yet.

All signals point to further delays on this project.

If I’m wrong, then the Corps needs to come out publicly and say with certainty that those stations will be there June 1, 2012. They also need to explain why one of their schedules shows a year difference from another of their schedules.

One has to wonder if the stations will get built at all?

Matt McBride

A bill to find the truth about the levee failures is stalled in Homeland Security and YOU can kick this bill into action!

If you haven’t yet, please make two (2) important phone calls today:

1. Call Senator Landrieu at 202-224-5824 and tell her we need hearings on the 8/29 Investigation Act.

2. Call Senator Vitter at 202-224-4623 and ask for him to co-sponsor Senate Bill 2826 so we have a bipartisan bill.

It’s quick and simple - just start your phone call with this:

“I would like to leave a message for the Senator…. ” And leave your message.

Your Senators represent YOU; make sure your voice is heard!

Best if done by 6pm CST today Tue June 3.

Syndicated from the Levees.org email.

Once more HumidCity is proud to syndicate the emails of engineer Matt McBride, the man who formerly helmed Fix The Pumps.

Dear New Orleanians,

Apparently the Corps New Orleans District is trying to allay fears about leaks through their levees, according to a press conference held today.

“‘We want to put to rest the concerns with seepage,’ Durham-Aguilera said…’We are talking about a way of working collaboratively with the levee authority to decide how to implement peer review, whether to use individuals from academia or a think tank.’”

One of the best ways to do that would be to force the public release of the final report on the London Avenue canal load test, held last summer. That report has already been through independent peer review.

The report’s release has been delayed repeatedly since at least March of this year. At the May 15th East Bank Levee Authority meeting, a member of the Authority asked about the report, and was told by Colonel Bedey it would be out by June 1, which is three days away. Is the Corps holding the report back? Probably so.

The report undoubtedly contains a great deal of information about seepage in existing floodwalls, as that’s what the load test was all about. Getting it released would definitely shine light on what the Corps currently knows about leaks through levees and floodwalls, much more so than a press conference and vague promises of future reviews. They’ve already got the information, so why not put it out there?

Matt

Once more HumidCity is proud to syndicate the emails of engineer Matt McBride, the man who formerly helmed Fix The Pumps.

Dear New Orleanians,

Those of you who followed my blog might have remembered my post about the 17,000 feet of rusty, unpainted hydraulic pipes at all three lakefront floodgate sites.

For over two years, the pipes have sat there, corroding away in a marine environment. All the while, the Corps did nothing.

Until last Friday, when this solicitation popped up:

New Coating System for Hydraulic Pipes-Cleaning and coating hydraulic and fuel lines Interim Closure Structures-Orleans Avenue, London Avenue, and 17th Street

It’s about time!

When I wrote about the rusty pipes, I only concentrated on the lines between the pump engines and the pumps themselves, which carry 3000 psi hydraulic fluid. I noted, but never wrote about, the fuel lines which feed the generators from the huge, 20,000 gallon fuel tanks. They also are very rusty, and are just as critical to the operation of these facilities.

Finally - FINALLY - the Corps will do the right thing and hydroblast and paint the things. When they will do so is not clear, because the synopsis does not give a timeline. And this will still not correct the problem with inadequate sizing of the pipes. That could only be corrected by replacing them.

The fact this is coming two years after their installation should make people think very long and hard about the reassurances the Corps has given over that period that everything was just fine. Everything was not fine, and it still is not

Matt

well after 2 years in a fema trailer, give or take a few half lives and a couple of missed doses of depakote, i’m finally back in a house. so armed with a contempt for capitalization and punctuation, let me hit the ground punning… as  my head begins to spin into puddles of creativity, i realize the biggest problem with post-k new orleans or post reagan politics isn’t reality, it’s all perception.  my jazz fest experience as a performer made me think that we weren’t in the small print…. all those people opened up for us,,,,  when i recently donated one of my paintings to the grace house for an auction, i didn’t consider myself a starving artist with only 3 pieces sold in my 44 years, rather score now is fred 3, van gogh 1.  

it’s all in the perception… the spin… the lie even.

as i sat recently blurry eyed and pumped with manic endorphins, a piece of “lie” and perception hit me or kicked me or fondled me… it has to do with the reason i’m only recently in a house and may be back in a trailer or a boat or homeless when hurricane season arrives on my freshly unpainted doorstep august or thereabouts: 7400 Leake Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118???? leake ave?  LEAKE?  LEAK?   oh yes, the physical address of the U.S. CORP OF ENGINEERS… c’est levee!  well, as i investigated further the PUBLIC AFFAIRS dept of the corps (or is that corpse????) no longer uses 7400 Leake Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118 as their addy…. they got a P.O. BOX… go figure… you can’t sue ‘em, you can’t find ‘em, BUT YOU CAN STILL BLAME ‘EM.  I suggest they get a new physical addy on TUPPERWARE ST or WATERPROOF RD or ME CULPA DR or better yet on WE ADMIT IT WE F’D UP ROYALLY AND WE PROMISE WE WON”T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN BLVD.

a p.o. box? you gotta be kiddin’ me!

BLOG THIS!

p.h. fred (phfred@notthat.com)

?

In the midst of the Jazz Fest Daily Deluge the following article snuck through between the raindrops:

A federal court judge cleared the way Friday for the Army Corps of Engineers to face trial on claims that defects in its Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet destroyed wetlands and turned the navigation channel into a funnel for storm surge..

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval’s 40-page ruling “paves the way for the first and only trial that will likely be held on how the Army Corps of Engineers drowned New Orleans” during Hurricane Katrina, said California attorney Pierce O’Donnell, who leads the legal team that filed the case two years ago on behalf of a group of plaintiffs that includes WDSU-TV anchorman Norman Robinson, who lived in eastern New Orleans.

The suit alleges the controversial shipping channel flooded thousands of homes in eastern New Orleans, the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish.

After the way previous suits against the Corps have gone this is a lovely breath of fresh air. In order to engender respect from the community there needs to be responsibility, accountability and some from of pennance besides. Accountability has been evaded because of decades outdated immunities still on the books. Need I remind the world yet again that the winds that hit New Orleans were Cat 2, we were on the weaker backside of the storm. The levees were certified for Cat 3.

Now the Corps is using newspapers to seal the gaps in the levees? Drag them through the court system and enforce accountability.

Without proper flood protection the world will lose a lot, not just the residents of New Orleans. Newsweek said it very well recently:

This subtropical port, which looks to the Mediterranean, Africa and the Caribbean for inspiration, has always marched to the beat of a multitude of different and very funky drummers. Which city has more beguiling street names - Abundance, Beaujolais, Cupid, Desire? Other places have the Rotary and the Elks. New Orleans has Social and Pleasure clubs and the Mardi Gras Indians - African-Americans masquerading as Native Americans in a tradition dating from when Indians and slaves were natural allies. A Mardi Gras Indian designs and sews a new costume every year: one chief put the cost, in time and materials, at $100,000 each. There are secret rituals, songs and chants; even parade routes are classified. Masking is crucial - disguise, misdirection, all in the service of nutty, impractical, unclassifiable mystery - and it’s one key to understanding the city and its culture. New Orleans elevates the chores of daily life to a high level of culture. Porch railings are wrought into sculpture. In the kitchen, the humblest food becomes piquant. Even the funeral procession is an art form.

In the wake of Katrina, New Orleans is doing what it does best: making something extraordinary out of next to nothing. There’s no Marshall Plan here - just small miracles in individual neighborhoods. “The culture of New Orleans emanates from the bottom up, not from the top down,” says Ellis Marsalis, pianist, composer and patriarch of the musical clan. The resurrection of the neighborhoods is doubly important because thousands of residents are still trying to come back, and because the city’s culture - particularly its music - is anchored in the neighborhoods. Unless they are revived, “the music won’t have a home anymore,” says saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., who is also the Big Chief of the Congo Nation, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. “New Orleans needs the neighborhoods, because it’s the only city in America that retains its traditional styles.”

In the increasingly mobile and digital age the world needs places like New Orleans. This is the last true American bohemia in so many ways, a place with a rich and vibrant (and yes, in many case unfortunate) history.

This is one of those rare moments of sanity over the past three years, I hope it goes the distance!

Now back to my foul weather Jazz Fest Blogging…

Loki, Founder and Cat Herder, HumidCity

This content is syndicated from the email by Matt McBride, formerly at the helm of Fix The Pumps. -Loki

Dear New Orleanians,

The Corps has released the preliminary version of their category 5 study:

http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/default.aspx

or the direct link:

http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/default.aspx?p=LACPR_Draft_Technical_Report

They had promised this to the public (after missing their 12/31/07 deadline) on February 8th, as seen here:

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/Video/WLAE_Col_Lee_080115.wmv

I went and checked on March 7th, and it hadn’t yet appeared on the LaCPR site. But it’s there now.

By the way, the study doesn’t actually make any recommendations. In fact, here’s an excerpt from the end of the report:

“Efforts to date do not point to a single effective risk reduction strategy. No single strategy for comprehensive hurricane damage risk reduction, other than entirely abandoning communities in South Louisiana, will guarantee safety for the population along the coast.”

Basically, what this study has done is just collect all the alternatives, so that more meetings can be held. The Corps has placed a paragraph in the report meant to blunt criticism that the public was expecting recommendations from this report, and there are none (and, yes, I am aware that was reported earlier, but that doesn’t mean that every member of the public in South Louisiana will remember or care about it):

“Congress also directed a technical report rather than a reconnaissance or feasibility report as described by normal USACE policy. The technical report will contain many of the same components as a reconnaissance or feasibility report, such as presenting the results of the formulation and evaluation of alternatives. As outlined by the Congressional direction, the technical report will contain a ‘comprehensive hurricane protection analysis and design…to develop and present a full range of flood control, coastal restoration, and hurricane protection measures…for comprehensive Category 5 protection.’”

Expect to see that argument when people start asking, “why are there no recommendations other than, ‘have more meetings?’”

Matt

According to Matt MacBride, a man my hat is always tipped towards, the head of the Corps of Engineers, Lt. General Robert Van Antwerp, has started a blog:

https://eportal.usace.army.mil/sites/Blog/default.aspx

There is only one post up so far, and it is about Iraq not the Gulf Coast. Still, I think it is damn important that we all take advantage of the opportunity to at least have our say in a new public forum

I know I will be stopping by with pointed questions, and I hope that people from around the U.S. (perhaps folks who live near those 137 levees that are not up to snuff across the country) chime in as well.

[EDIT: here is a link to the Corps Press Release and here is an alternate link if the one above does not work -loki]

Loki
Founder, HumidCity

So this did not seem to make the news in the splashy way it should have. More lies and incompetence from the people who hold our lives in their hands. Maria Garzino is a hero, and should be treated as such. I encourage you to read on and see what the latest from the Corpse of Engineers holds:

WASHINGTON, DC, October 9, 2007 (ENS) -  The main pumps protecting New Orleans in the event of a major hurricane or flood are “inherently flawed” due to poor design and still have not been properly tested, according to whistleblower disclosure documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER.

The top U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specialist assigned to oversee the city’s new pumping system says that key safeguards were circumvented and “there is an erroneous assumption that…hydraulic pumps are fully operational, and hence, the risk to the public remains high,” in the words of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Maria Garzino, a veteran Corps civil engineer, who was the team leader of pumping systems installation for New Orleans, has filed for federal whistleblower status with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, OSC.

In a September 21 letter, the OSC notified Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it found Garzino’s charges credible.

Writing from the OSC’s office, Scott Bloch informed the defense secretary, “I have concluded that there is a substantial likelihood that the information she provided to the Office of Special Counsel discloses violations of law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, and a substantial and specific danger to public health.”

By law, Secretary Gates must respond within 60 days.

Bloch’s letter states, “My office has received serious allegations which cast doubt on the integrity of costly pumping equipment installed in three main structures by the USACE and its ability to protect New Orleans from further flooding.”

The three structures are located at 17th Street, Orleans Avenue, and London Avenue.

Read the rest at the original Environment News Service Article!

If my lunch hour were not dwindling so rapidly I would write more. Watch for future posts!

in the most inane govermental scientific report to date, scientists now blame pigeons for the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota. WTF? WTFFF? well, it appears that the acidic content of pigeon excrement is strong enough to rust through the bolts that help hold the bridge together… AND this ubermensch-like poop caused or at least contributed to the bridge’s demise… IF ONLY the corps of engineers had thought of such a preposterous EXCUSE for the levee breachesin New Orleans.  Nutria droppings anyone? Pelican pooala mode? BTW i wonder if State Farm, Allstate, or Louisiana Citizens covers this. It could fall under wind or flood damage…

Just sounds like more bull stool to me… speaking of which, our fearless leader will be visiting on wednesday since he missed our anniversary last year.  Now can we REALLY talk about BS…BLOG THIS!

 phfred@notthat.com

I do not have much time to write before leaving to go to work, but there are two issues that I ran across this morning that almost made me choke on my coffee. Acording to the Daily Advertiser our illustrious House of Representatives has voted for a bill authorizing raises for the Gov. and various other State Gov. officials. Have these lackwits earned a raise? In the Governor’s case a 40K raise pushing the job 10K above the national average for State Governors?

When the bill came up for a second vote Wednesday, 22 lawmakers who voted against it or were absent in May switched their votes and supported it 57-42. Another 13 who voted for it or were absent last month voted against the proposal.

The vote exchange puzzled even Speaker of the House Joe Salter, D-Florien, who said, “I can’t explain it.”"I don’t think some people knew what they were voting on,” said Rep. Monica Walker, D-Marksville, who with Rep. Kay Katz, R-Monroe, voted against the raise both times.

Katz agreed “some people weren’t paying attention.”

The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, seeks to increase the governor’s salary from $95,000 to $135,000 and the salary of the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, commissioner of insurance and commissioner of agriculture from $85,000 to $115,000.

Does this seem like a well deserved raise? Does this seem like people who are supposed to be steering the state (HA!) were paying attention? Does it seem like a bad acid flashback? Is there any sanity left in Louisiana?Was there any to begin with? And what about Naomi?

So as I’m choking on my coffee reading this I get another jolt. I wish I could say it was a shock, but it was not. More like getting confirmation from your doctor that you have cancer…

The Corps. Deception. Corruption. Reckless endangerment of every life in New Orleans. Hardly new news, but the scope of things as revealed by their own internal investigation is something out of a delusional paranoid’s fantay world. The unfortunate thing is that it is not. I have leave and go t a contract job so I will steer you over to Fix The Pumps to get all the gory details from an actual engineer.

Top points
The Corps New Orleans District has lied to New Orleans and the nation for over a year.

• The pumps are far from ready.
• Millions of taxpayer dollars have been misspent or are unaccounted for.
• Multiple cover-ups have taken place.
• New Orleans remains nearly as vulnerable to flooding as it was immediately following Katrina.

His article includes excellent documentation and reasoning as well as a link to the Corps Report itself. Prepare to become nauseous as you read.

Big Hat Tip to Greg at Suspect Device for the info on the raises. Huge bow on bended knee to Matt at Fix The Pumps, our very own homegrown NOLA Sperhero!

Xposted on  the Livejournal New Orleans Community

Well, I cannot completely drop the vitriol, there is too much that is deserving of it. Instead I will mock the worst of it:

Right now I am busier than MWI trying to cover its behind so this will be short.

The latest dangerous and deceitful actions by the Corps of Engineers continue to put the lives of New Orleans residents at risk. This cannot be tolerated! MWI, the politically connected company who installed these faulty pumps has already begun their attempt at damage control on the issue (See Spoko’s Brain for their lawyer’s response and in depth analysis) Lo and behold, they have associations with Jeb Bush! Sorry Jeb, the only Bush we tolerate here anymore is Reggie. You have your brother George W. to thank for that! As to J. David Eller (MWI’s owner and Jeb’s former business partner), your political cntributions will not shield you from the truth.

We cannot allow the hard facts presented to be spun for the media. Adherance to cold, hard facts is paramount to our continued existence. I strongly encourage all the bloggers out there to jump on this, and also to be prepard for the backlash. According to the original memo 50% have experienced catastrophic failure. That is straight from a memo whose authenticity has been verified by the Corps of Engineers!

Write your congressmen, senators and media. Make some noise, hold them accountable, and do not act like the invertebrates of the Democratic Party (show some backbone)! This is not partisan, it is life or death!

Fix The Pumps, it is requred reading. Facts are what we need and Matt McBride is providing them.

The Infamous memo that Matt Mcbride leaked to the media, the one that caused all the media outlets to jump on the “defective pumps,” bandwagon. Where is it, what does it actually say?

Well, if you go here you will find it. How much “mea culpa,” on paper does it take before we can force the Corps to be held accountable?

This is a great example of why blogging is important, the media has consistently been months behind on most stories nd usually seems to cull their material from the local blogs. Damn fine to see a local blogger once again being the whistle blower. Tell him thanks when you stop by his site, he more than deserves it!!!

powered by performancing firefox

Gee whiz, golly! The Corps installed faulty pumps in New Orleans to make up for their failed levees! Everyone who is surprised please raise your hands…

Yup, thought so.

From Yahoo News via the AP wire:

NEW ORLEANS - The Army Corps of Engineers, rushing to meet

President Bush

’s promise to protect New Orleans by the start of the 2006 hurricane season, installed defective flood-control pumps last year despite warnings from its own expert that the equipment would fail during a storm, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The Churchillian verbiage of the infamous Speech at Jackson Square continues to prove that talk, no matter how lordly, is cheap. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, the US seems to have declared war on the city. Granted we have our own batch of lackwits running the show, but the Federal efforts seem almost deliberately geared towards stamping us out under the guise of assisting us.

We lived here because we were told by the Army Corps of Engineers that it was safe within certain parameters. That was a lie. The Cat 5 part of the storm ht the MS gulf coast and obliterated it. The winds that hit New Orleans were clocked at Cat 2, one level below what the levees were supposed to be rated for. They failed. “Act of God, ” try “Act of Man.”

So our supposed protection, promised before last hurricane season has been provided by these pumps:

The pumps failed less-strenuous testing than the original contract
called for, according to the memo. Originally, each of the 34 pumps was
to be “load tested” — made to pump water — but that requirement for all
the pumps was dropped, the memo said.Of eight pumps that were load tested, one was turned on for a few
minutes and another was run at one-third of operating pressure, the
memo said. Three of the other load-tested pumps “experienced
catastrophic failure,” Garzino wrote.

What is it going to take for pink slips to start being issued? Or even better, we make it law that members of the Corps, politicians, and mebers of the Levee Board have to live in house that back directly up to the levess.

This is not simple dishonesty, these are people’s lives! Something has got to give, we need a serious change in the way these people are paid, contracted, and held accountable for works that directly affect the lives of an entire city.

One of my favorite little details, one I will end on, is about the company that made the pumps (a company that still got 80% of the mony for the job). They have *GASP*connections to the Bush family:

MWI is owned by J. David Eller and his sons. Eller was once a business partner of former Florida Gov.

Jeb Bush
in a venture called Bush-El that marketed MWI pumps. And Eller has
donated about $128,000 to politicians, the vast majority of it to the
Republican Party, since 1996, according to the Center for Responsive
Politics.

MWI has run into trouble before. The U.S. Justice Department sued
the company in 2002, accusing it of fraudulently helping Nigeria obtain
$74 million in taxpayer-backed loans for overpriced and unnecessary
water-pump equipment. The case has yet to be resolved.

Because of the trouble with the New Orleans pumps, the Corps has
withheld 20 percent of the MWI contract, including an incentive of up
to $4 million that the company could have collected if it delivered the
equipment in time for the 2006 hurricane season.

xposted on HumidCity, DefendNOLA, LJ New Orleans, Powers and Morrison

As attempts continue to derail the lawsuits against the Corps I think the following info is extremely important. Please pass this along to anyone and everyone you know in the New Orleans area.

Please let everyone know that the previous forms that were filled out in reference to the Corp of Engineers lawsuit are invalid. The new forms which are (2) pages can be obtained and printed from the wwltv.com website. http://www.wwltv.com/suit1.pdf and http://www.wwltv.com/suit2.pdf These forms must be mailed in by Wednesday, February 28, 2007.

You can also download a copy of Form 95 & necessary instructions at www.leveelaw. com

If anyone is interested in signing on to the class action against the Corps, Murphy Law Firm has people in town today to do the paperwork. The deadline for filing was moved up yesterday, and the new deadline is Wednesday. If you want to find out more, call Nicole at 225 773 4206. All of the law firms involved, and there are many, are scrambling to comply with this latest effort of the corps to derail the suit.

“I am deathly afraid that this vital emergency post-Katrina work is now
being treated like typical Corps projects that take decades to
complete,” Vitter wrote. “We will not recover if this happens.”

-David Vitter

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Tomorrow begins hurricane season, a very uneasy time if you are here fighting for the survival of city and culture. Nine months after the Act Of Man (it was the levee failure not Katrina that did us in) inundated my home I see this in the news:

Levee slumps; repairs to take weeks With hurricane season only three days away, the Army Corps of Engineers on Monday announced that a 400-foot section of earthen hurricane protection levee being rebuilt near Buras High School in Plaquemines Parish slumped by more than 6 feet overnight Saturday, and repairs could take three to six weeks.

Due to immunity set in place after Hurricane Betsy the Corps is not going to be held accountable for one of the worst disasters in American history. Ask yourself honestly, how do you feel about this?

Hattiesburg, Miss. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander said today the possibility that a Category 4 hurricane could strike New Orleans is his top concern as the 2006 hurricane season nears.

Katrina report blames human errors
Hurricane Katrina wouldn’t have breached the region’s hurricane protection system had it been properly financed, designed, built and maintained, say a group of forensic scientists who are calling for strict new federal levee safety standards and an end to “dysfunctional” local government interference they say also hampers flood protection.