Corps Chief Promises NOLA 100-Yr Protection by 2011
Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, the new chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, promised to fulfill the commitment to bring the New Orleans hurricane protection system to a 100-year level by 2011 or "we are going to break our backs trying."
Antwerp made the pledge in front of the interim gate structure at the 17th Street Canal May 31, during a three-day tour of the city, his first visit since a one-day stop in April after his nomination was blocked by Senators Mary Landrieu, D-La. and David Vitter, R-La. Van Antwerp also promised to restore trust in the Corps through personal, technical and professional assurances that include ongoing peer reviews and a formal, mid-June unveiling of a "risk and reliability" study developed as the final product of the forensic task force that analyzed the Katrina disaster in minute detail.