Just yesterday, the National Science Foundation issued a finding that a clerical error may have led to the failure of the 17th Street Canal, one of the many canals in the metro area that beached.  How could this happen?  Where was the oversight from the Corps of Engineers? Engineers must review and approve all data prior to use in plans and specifications. There is a reason state law requires engineers to be licensed.  There is no professional licensing of clerks.

As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, 600 people might have lived had the walls of the 17th Street Canals held.

This oversight/error is easily done in an atmosphere of our current state law.  All civilian and military engineers working for the COE are covered in a safety clause of that statute where they have no liability.

This is one of the many reasons we need Levee Board Reform to check and re-check everything the Corps does in the future.

-Sandy Rosenthal