Letter to David G. Mongan

A Letter to David G. Mongan
President, American Society of Civil Engineers

David G. Mongan, P.E. F. ASCE
American Society of Civil Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, Virginia 20191
dmongan@asce.org

Dear Mr. Mongan,

We respectfully request that you direct the administration of the ASCE to issue a formal retraction of the ASCE’s June 1, 2007 press release regarding the New Orleans hurricane protection system.

The June 1, 2007 press release issued in association with the issuance of the ASCE’s External Review Panel report, The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why, made inaccurate and misleading representations to the general public.

While the report itself gives a fair analysis, the accompanying press release understates the role of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the rest of the engineering profession in the flooding of greater New Orleans and is a disservice to the people of Louisiana and to the people of this nation.

ASCE has a responsibility to the U.S. Congress, all civil engineers in the United States and to the general public – to present the facts surrounding the failures of the engineered flood control facilities, without bias or preferential treatment from anyone, not even the members of the ASCE or the USACE

Please have a new press release issued that retracts the June 1 press release and accurately explains to the American people what really went wrong and why.

Sincerely,

Robert Bea PhD. P.E. – CA

Billy R. Prochaska P.E. Life Member, ASCE – LA

Ivor van Heerden – Team Louisiana – LA

Lucas H. Ehrensing P.E. – LA

Carlton Dufrechou AICP – LA

HJ Bosworth, Jr. P.E. – LA

Jack Davey – LA

David Rosenberg P.E. – CA

Paul Kemp – LA

Stuart Lob – LA

Sam Z. Scandaliato P.E. Life Member ASCE – LA

Wayne Weiser C.E. – LA

Geneva Grille P.E. – LA

Lester W. Saab – MA

Donald Arnold – LA

Andy Kates – LA

Fred Matthew BSEG, SPE, AIME, ADT, BOP Subsea, M-Div – LA

Professor James Abbott PhD – LA

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