just when i think i'm out, some lying weenie pulls me back in.

john bambenek has blamed the lack of a sufficient levee system on law suits filed by environmentalists, saying after they had their way an upgrade would have taken 25 years, so recent funding cuts have nothing to do with anything.

but in the army corps of engineers publication he references in his own post as the source for that statement, eric lincoln writes that the lawsuits were filed and settled in 1977, and the existing (or previously existing) structures were never under dispute. the suit was over other proposed protection structures at the rigolets and chef menteur pass, and that construction was stopped, but the levees were agreed upon by both sides, and there were no restrictions placed upon their construction. the levees that failed after katrina weren't inadequate because of environmentalists, they were inadequate because the people who designed and erected them did so inadequately. this particular issue of the publication in question, riverside, came out in september of 2004 and says that engineering and project management were just beginning to look into options to upgrade the system to protect against a category 5 hurricane.

i don't know how an upgrade would have taken 25 years, when it's only been 28 years since the original plan to begin construction was thought up. maybe he meant an upgrade would have taken 25 years for anyone to get around to.