It’s there for all to see. A federal judge has ruled that the US Army Corps of Engineers was negligent and derelict in their duty to provide flood protection for the citizens of New Orleans. This means – as Levees.Org has been chanting all along – that the primary responsibility for the disastrous flooding rests squarely on the corps and ultimately on Congress.

Under an 80-year old law, the victims cannot sue the corps. But it doesn’t absolve the corps of wrongdoing.

Judge Stanwood Duval showed great sympathy for the citizens in the heart of New Orleans who trusted the agency which was tasked via the Flood Control Act of 1965 with designing and building the flood protection. Duval lamented, “…it should not be unreasonable for those citizens to rely on their agents, whom they pay through their taxes, to perform the tasks assigned in a timely and competent way…”

And it should not be unreasonable for the New Orleans citizens to turn to Congress and say “You flooded us, now please help us.”