WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) – A national panel has called for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restructure its project selection and decision-making procedures.

The National Academy of Public Administration was commissioned by Congress to conduct an eight-month study of the Corps, with emphasis on how the Corps prioritizes construction projects.

The panel, led by Louisiana State University Chancellor Sean O’Keefe, released its findings Monday.

“The current process does not serve the nation as well as it can,” O’Keefe said. “It does not give enough attention to system performance and weighing risks if systems fail.”

The Corps currently weighs the relative economic value of a project against its actual cost. The panel suggests such a narrow focus is inadequate and should incorporte public safety, environmental consequences and other factors in addition to economic value.

“Human safety should be one of the most important factors in the prioritization process,” O’Keefe said. “Economic benefit alone doesn’t capture the value of projects for which the Corps of Engineers is responsible. The (Hurricane) Katrina and Rita experiences are painful reminders that when systems fail, the consequences are much more than dollars and cents.”

The report is available at www.napawash.org.