Sunday, December 29, 2013 7:54:22 PM
Judge ends Katrina flooding lawsuits against feds
The Associated Press
Posted: 12/28/2013 12:50:55 PM CST
FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2005, file photo, residents...
((AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool, File))
NEW ORLEANS—Dozens of lawsuits seeking damages from the federal government for Hurricane Katrina-related levee failures and flooding in the New Orleans area are over.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. has dismissed the cases. The move comes more than a year after a federal appeals court overturned his ruling that held the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers liable for flooding caused by lax maintenance of a shipping channel.
Duval has also dismissed a parallel lawsuit against a contractor. It claimed excavation work weakened flood walls in New Orleans' Industrial Canal. Duval entered the orders to dismiss the cases on Dec. 20.
More than 500,000 residents, businesses and governments filed claims against the Corps. People in southern Louisiana have long taken for granted that the flooding in the wake of the 2005 storm was a man-made disaster—one caused specifically by the corps—and they have wanted the agency to pay up for lost homes and property.
The corps claimed immunity from suits related to decisions on flood-control projects, including most levees, based on a 1928 federal law. But lawyers tried to get around that by claiming the agency had been negligent in maintaining navigation channels, including the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
That channel, dug in the 1960s and closed after the hurricane, funneled Katrina's storm surge into parts of the city. Overall, thousands of homes were destroyed, about 1,400 people died in the flood and much of the city was left under water.
Duval had ruled in 2009 that the corps was liable for the flooding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward neighborhood and St. Bernard Parish because the agency failed to properly maintain the channel, allowing protective marshland to wash away.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals initially agreed with that decision in March 2012. But in September, a three-judge panel reversed its earlier opinion, saying the new ruling "completely insulates the government from liability."
The ruling could make it extremely difficult to force the government to pay damages for future mishaps.
Under federal law, the government cannot be sued over actions based "on considerations of public policy," the appeals panel wrote. The corps' decisions regarding the shipping channel fall under that protection, the judges wrote.
http://www.grahamleader.com/nationalnews/ci_24808162/judge-ends-katrina-flooding-lawsuits-against-feds
====
I'm not sure why the federal government was sued when it seems basically
the Orleans Levee District is responsible for the levees .. excerpt ..
From 1890 through 2006, the Orleans Levee Board was the body in charge of supervising the levee and floodwall system in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, which is intended to protect the city of New Orleans from flooding. The role included requirements definition prior to construction, operation, and ongoing maintenance. Over the years the Board also took on various activities relating to land use on and around the levees. In the wake of the catastrophic engineering failures sustained by New Orleans' levee and floodwall system in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, two new regional flood protection authorities were created to supersede multiple parochial levee boards, including Orleans Parish's Levee Board. Most of the Orleans Levee District now falls under the jurisdiction of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East, charged with the oversight of all flood protection infrastructure for Greater New Orleans on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West possesses the same metro-wide jurisdiction for the West Bank of the Mississippi, and includes that portion of the Orleans Levee District on the West Bank (i.e., Algiers).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orleans_Levee_Board
---
Mission Statement
The Orleans Levee District is dedicated to protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Orleans Parish by constructing, operating and maintaining the Mississippi River and Hurricane Protection Flood Control Systems and to providing safe and secure facilities for aviation, marine and recreational activities.
VISION
The Orleans Levee District is to be a proactive, public orientated, fiscally responsible, ethical and highly respected flood protection and service organization.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The Orleans Levee District (the District) was established by Act 93 of the 1890 General Assembly (Legislature) of the State of Louisiana. The District is primarily responsible for the operation and maintenance of levees, embankments, seawalls, jetties, breakwaters, water basins, and other hurricane and flood protection improvements surrounding the City of New Orleans, including the southern shores of Lake Pontchartrain and along the Mississippi River. The District is responsible for the maintenance of 104.8 miles of levees and floodwalls, 200 floodgates, 103 flood valves, and two flood control structures. To enhance flood protection, the District, and the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE), participate and cost share in several joint flood protection projects relative to the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Plan (LPVHPP). .. http://www.orleanslevee.com/
.. on that one the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) could be seen to bear some responsibility, just i can't
find anything on the Orleans Levee District being sued as well .. hmm, ok, this one sheds more light on that wonder ..
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works controversies (New Orleans)
Through 19 Flood Control Acts since 1917, the United States Congress has authorized the
United States Army Corps of Engineers to become involved with design and construction of flood
protection and damage reduction system in the Greater New Orleans area and throughout the nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_Corps_of_Engineers_civil_works_controversies_%28New_Orleans%29
.. guessing i would be the only one here who would do that wonder wander in such
ignorance .. lol .. though i still wonder if any Louisiana bureaucracy was sued as well ..
The Associated Press
Posted: 12/28/2013 12:50:55 PM CST
FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2005, file photo, residents...
((AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool, File))
NEW ORLEANS—Dozens of lawsuits seeking damages from the federal government for Hurricane Katrina-related levee failures and flooding in the New Orleans area are over.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. has dismissed the cases. The move comes more than a year after a federal appeals court overturned his ruling that held the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers liable for flooding caused by lax maintenance of a shipping channel.
Duval has also dismissed a parallel lawsuit against a contractor. It claimed excavation work weakened flood walls in New Orleans' Industrial Canal. Duval entered the orders to dismiss the cases on Dec. 20.
More than 500,000 residents, businesses and governments filed claims against the Corps. People in southern Louisiana have long taken for granted that the flooding in the wake of the 2005 storm was a man-made disaster—one caused specifically by the corps—and they have wanted the agency to pay up for lost homes and property.
The corps claimed immunity from suits related to decisions on flood-control projects, including most levees, based on a 1928 federal law. But lawyers tried to get around that by claiming the agency had been negligent in maintaining navigation channels, including the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
That channel, dug in the 1960s and closed after the hurricane, funneled Katrina's storm surge into parts of the city. Overall, thousands of homes were destroyed, about 1,400 people died in the flood and much of the city was left under water.
Duval had ruled in 2009 that the corps was liable for the flooding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward neighborhood and St. Bernard Parish because the agency failed to properly maintain the channel, allowing protective marshland to wash away.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals initially agreed with that decision in March 2012. But in September, a three-judge panel reversed its earlier opinion, saying the new ruling "completely insulates the government from liability."
The ruling could make it extremely difficult to force the government to pay damages for future mishaps.
Under federal law, the government cannot be sued over actions based "on considerations of public policy," the appeals panel wrote. The corps' decisions regarding the shipping channel fall under that protection, the judges wrote.
http://www.grahamleader.com/nationalnews/ci_24808162/judge-ends-katrina-flooding-lawsuits-against-feds
====
I'm not sure why the federal government was sued when it seems basically
the Orleans Levee District is responsible for the levees .. excerpt ..
From 1890 through 2006, the Orleans Levee Board was the body in charge of supervising the levee and floodwall system in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, which is intended to protect the city of New Orleans from flooding. The role included requirements definition prior to construction, operation, and ongoing maintenance. Over the years the Board also took on various activities relating to land use on and around the levees. In the wake of the catastrophic engineering failures sustained by New Orleans' levee and floodwall system in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, two new regional flood protection authorities were created to supersede multiple parochial levee boards, including Orleans Parish's Levee Board. Most of the Orleans Levee District now falls under the jurisdiction of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East, charged with the oversight of all flood protection infrastructure for Greater New Orleans on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West possesses the same metro-wide jurisdiction for the West Bank of the Mississippi, and includes that portion of the Orleans Levee District on the West Bank (i.e., Algiers).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orleans_Levee_Board
---
Mission Statement
The Orleans Levee District is dedicated to protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Orleans Parish by constructing, operating and maintaining the Mississippi River and Hurricane Protection Flood Control Systems and to providing safe and secure facilities for aviation, marine and recreational activities.
VISION
The Orleans Levee District is to be a proactive, public orientated, fiscally responsible, ethical and highly respected flood protection and service organization.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The Orleans Levee District (the District) was established by Act 93 of the 1890 General Assembly (Legislature) of the State of Louisiana. The District is primarily responsible for the operation and maintenance of levees, embankments, seawalls, jetties, breakwaters, water basins, and other hurricane and flood protection improvements surrounding the City of New Orleans, including the southern shores of Lake Pontchartrain and along the Mississippi River. The District is responsible for the maintenance of 104.8 miles of levees and floodwalls, 200 floodgates, 103 flood valves, and two flood control structures. To enhance flood protection, the District, and the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE), participate and cost share in several joint flood protection projects relative to the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Plan (LPVHPP). .. http://www.orleanslevee.com/
.. on that one the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) could be seen to bear some responsibility, just i can't
find anything on the Orleans Levee District being sued as well .. hmm, ok, this one sheds more light on that wonder ..
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works controversies (New Orleans)
Through 19 Flood Control Acts since 1917, the United States Congress has authorized the
United States Army Corps of Engineers to become involved with design and construction of flood
protection and damage reduction system in the Greater New Orleans area and throughout the nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_Corps_of_Engineers_civil_works_controversies_%28New_Orleans%29
.. guessing i would be the only one here who would do that wonder wander in such
ignorance .. lol .. though i still wonder if any Louisiana bureaucracy was sued as well ..
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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