Katrina Flood Victims’ Civil Suit Against Corps Underway

Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. Photo: Michael Maples/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Long awaited court proceedings pitting the Army Corps of Engineers against victims of flooding in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina got underway April 20 with the testimony of a coastal geologist who said he warned the Army Corps of Engineers decades ago about the dangers of the shipping channel that funneled Katrina’s storm surge into New Orleans.

Testifying for plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit that charges the Corps with responsibility for flooding during Katrina, Sherwood Gagliano called construction of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO), dug in the 1960s, “one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the United States.”

The non-jury trial is being heard by U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. If the plaintiffs are victorious, more than 120,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities could have a shot at claiming billions of dollars in damages.

“It will be used as a guide,” said Duval, who noted the case was the first major trial against the government since Katrina.

Gagliano, considered a father of coastal science in Louisiana, said he studied initial proposals for the channel, which links the Gulf of Mexico with the port of New Orleans, in the 1950s and prepared reports for the Corps on environmental and flood risks. In the ’70s, Gagliano warned that the MRGO could cause catastrophic flooding and destroy protective wetlands.

Plaintiffs say mLong awaited court proceedings pitting the Army Corps of Engineers against victims of flooding in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina got underway April 20 with the testimony of a coastal geologist who said he warned the Army Corps of Engineers decades ago about the dangers of the shipping channel that funneled Katrina’s storm surge into New Orleans.

Testifying for plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit that charges the Corps with responsibility for flooding during Katrina, Sherwood Gagliano called construction of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO), dug in the 1960s, “one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the United States.”

The non-jury trial is being heard by U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. If the plaintiffs are victorious, more than 120,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities could have a shot at claiming billions of dollars in damages.

“It will be used as a guide,” said Duval, who noted the case was the first major trial against the government since Katrina.

Gagliano, considered a father of coastal science in Louisiana, said he studied initial proposals for the channel, which links the Gulf of Mexico with the port of New Orleans, in the 1950s and prepared reports for the Corps on environmental and flood risks. In the ’70s, Gagliano warned that the MRGO could cause catastrophic flooding and destroy protective wetlands.

Plaintiffs say more than 140 square miles of wetlands were destroyed by the MRGO. The government said that the Corps took steps to make the shipping channel less dangerous, such as planting grass on the channel’s banks and stabilizing them with rocks.

Residents say poor maintenance of the MRGO led to the wipeout of St. Bernard Parish and the city’s Lower Ninth Ward. They are asking for damages of $300,000 to $400,000 for each individual. The Corps said it is immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans’ flood control system; The judge is allowing the case because of claims the channel was a navigation project.ore than 140 square miles of wetlands were destroyed by the MRGO. The government said that the Corps took steps to make the shipping channel less dangerous, such as planting grass on the channel’s banks and stabilizing them with rocks.

Residents say poor maintenance of the MRGO led to the wipeout of St. Bernard Parish and the city’s Lower Ninth Ward. They are asking for damages of $300,000 to $400,000 for each individual. The Corps said it is immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans’ flood control system; The judge is allowing the case because of claims the channel was a navigation project.

Topics Lawsuits USA Flood Mississippi