Part #1   http://www.insiderexclusive.com/show-content/396-us-army-corp-of-engineers-mrgo-disaster--part-1.html
Part #2   http://www.insiderexclusive.com/show-content/398-us-army-corp-of-engineers-mrgo-disaster--part-2.html  

In 1957, the American Shipping Industry sold the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  "a billion dollar - "pig in a poke".... the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Project or MRGO.  A Multi-Billion Dollar Engineering Project...On the scale of the Panama Canal, costing Billions of Dollars....  A superhighway for marine commerce.... A navigational channel to directly connect the Gulf of Mexico to the city of New Orleans.   Right here in the good ole USA....including building levees that maintain the highway to transport goods worldwide..... while providing flood protection for those living along its banks.     WHY?.....  Because it would benefit the shipping industry...and of course .....the state of Louisiana!

The new passage was supposed to shorten a ship's journey to the Crescent City by 40 miles, and provide an economic boon to St. Bernard, the parish most impacted by the project.

The cost? A mere $95 MILLION.  That's $95 Million in 1957 dollars...

But in 1958, a report published by the Department of the Interior, warned that "excavation of the (MRGO) could result in major ecological change with widespread and severe ecological consequences."

Too bad no one was listening.

The MRGO certainly provided access. Not just to ships, however,.... which largely ignored it.  But It also provided access to saltwater! The Gulf of Mexico now had direct access into some of the most productive marshes and wetlands in the entire United States.

In short order, it killed more than 11,000 acres of cypress swamps and turned over 19,000 acres of brackish marsh into saline marsh. Vegetation died. Wildlife died off ......or disappeared.

The freshwater marshes that once supported over a quarter million wintering ducks and provided an annual fur harvest of over 650,000 animals vanished due to saltwater intrusion.

A recent report jointly sponsored by the LSU Agricultural Center, Sea Grant and Coastal Wetlands and Restoration, , said...

"The New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers speculates that the loss of land in the area approaches nearly 3,400 acres of fresh/intermediate marsh. More than 10,300 acres of brackish marsh, 4,200 acres of saline marsh and 1,500 acres of cypress swamps and levee forests have been destroyed or severely altered."

And the damage continues today. The saline-rich water continues its deadly encroachment, further worsening an already incredible soil erosion rate. Every 24 minutes, Louisiana loses another acre of land. Nationally, the average beach subsides about 2 feet per year.

Here in Louisiana, they lose upwards of 35 square miles per year. That's larger than..... the size of Manhattan. The fact is Louisiana is losing at least that much ground to erosion and subsidence every year, and no real response had been forthcoming from the state or from Washington.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, environmentalists and others, including voters in St. Bernard Parish whom the canal was intended to help, called for its closure. Criticism intensified following Hurricane Katrina, when engineers implicated the MRGO in the failure of levees and flood-walls protecting large parts of Greater New Orleans.

MRGO was derisively termed a "Hurricane Highway" in Katrina's wake, due to its apparent role in amplifying the impacts of storm surges.

Many of the citizens and government of St. Bernard Parish had consistently voiced their concerns about the channel, the erosion of their parish, and the direct access the MRGO has provided for tropical storm surges and hurricanes, giving them an unimpeded superhighway from the Gulf into the city of New Orleans.Their concerns were not without cause. As far back as the October 2001 an issue of Scientific American warned that a worst-case hurricane impact could swamp the entire city of New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands of people .

AND THAT HAPPENED on Monday 29th August 2005 at 8:00am killing 1,836  people and causing  more than $US81 billion in damageTODAY, the INSIDER EXCLUSIVE will examine IN DEPTH in a Two-Part Special "U.S. ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS -MRGO DISASTER " To see how a dedicated father &  son legal team,  John and Gilbert Andry, of The Andry Law Firm took on the U.S. Government and The US Army Corps of Engineers and  WON.... in a classic David & Goliath Story.

As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "Making claims against the federal government requires turning square corners."

John and Gilbert ... will show the nation today how they "turned those squared corners" and successfully sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in 2005, claiming negligence in designing, constructing and maintaining the MRGO.

The VERDICT.... Hurricane Katrina victims were awarded $719,698 in damages by a judge in a lawsuit claiming a canal dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico destroyed a natural barrier to a storm surge.

The Judge said "The Army engineers are liable for the "negligent operation and maintenance" of the canal and not for faulty design or construction"."Once the corps exercised its discretion to create a navigational channel, it was obligated to make sure that channel did not destroy the environment surrounding it thereby creating a hazard to life and property,"

"When the corps designed the MRGO, it recognized that foreshore protection was going to be needed, yet the corps did nothing to monitor the problem in a meaningful way." "The people of this community have finally been vindicated and now they're going to be compensated"

"It is a landmark victory,". "It's the first time ever the Army Corps of Engineers has been held responsible for its monumental negligence."

The finding of negligence in the maintenance and operation of the canal supports the claims of about 100,000 residents and business owners in the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish,

And of course, the Government is appealing this verdict!   They still think they are protected with regard to the maintenance & operation of the canal  by 'Sovereign Immunity"

In the Final segment of this show, John and Gilbert share some additional insights on the legal battles and Issues that lay ahead, as well as offer sound suggestions for the future of the MRGO Ecosystem....Such as Restoring the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) area ecosystem that was severely degraded by the now de-authorized and blocked-off MRGO ship channel.This is of great importance to local communities and environmental organizations working on coastal Louisiana restoration.Also by doing whatever  needs to be done to restore the wetlands. And making sure that the Restoration of the wetlands will require a combination of techniques that build land.... re-establish the natural salinity and flow of water... and protect shorelines.  

Will this  cost a lot of money to close the MRGO and restore the wetlands?  It will......but the cost pales next to the multi-billion dollar risk that the Greater New Orleans Area and St. Bernard Parish face as long as wetlands decimated by the MRGO are not restored.If we follow the advice of some of the  World's most renowned Experts and  Scientists  who recommend several priority projects for the MRGO Ecosystem like:Mitigating many historical impacts of the MRGO channel;Increasing protection from hurricane winds, waves, or storm surge;Improving fish and wildlife habitat;And Increasing the resiliency of coastal wetlands to erosion, subsidence, and sea level riseThen.....  we've got a "FIGHTING" chance at saving and preserving one of America's greatest environmental treasuresWatch this two-part Series to see how The Andry Law Firm is continuing their legal battle on behalf of the People of  New Orleans .....in the Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation.