More than six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated communities all along the Florida to Louisiana Gulf Coast and overwhelmed the hurricane protection system and levees of New Orleans, many residents of that city are still wary of rebuilding their homes, business and lives. They want to know what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is doing to restore and improve the hurricane protection system. Many also want to know why they should again put their faith in the Corps to protect them from future storms.
Speaking for the Corps, I can say we will do absolutely everything we can, within our authorities and funding levels, to design, restore, and build an effective, reliable and resilient system. We will keep the public informed on our progress. We will maintain the public confidence through the quality of our work and all of it will be independently reviewed by the world’s leading experts.