|
Army Corps of Engineers Called to Reform
Critics Charge Agency with Backing Wasteful Projects
 Listen to Allison Aubrey's report.
The Corps lined a section of Michigan's River Rouge with concrete in the 1970s as a flood-control measure. A project is now underway to remove the concrete and restore natural habitat.
Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
|
Controversial Projects
Watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense calls the following the 10 most wasteful projects by the the Army Corps of Engineers. Under each project is a link to TCS analysis and Corps summaries.
East Arkansas Irrigation Projects (Ark.)
TCS | Army Corps
Delaware River Deepening (Del., N.J., Pa.)
TCS | Army Corps
Upper Mississippi River Lock Expansions (Ill., Iowa, Minn., Mo., Wis.)
TCS | Army Corps
Big Sunflower River Dredging and Yazoo Pump (Miss.)
TCS | Army Corps
Oregon Inlet Jetties (N.C.)
TCS | Army Corps
Apalachicola River Navigation (Ala., Fla., Ga.)
TCS | Army Corps
Lower Snake River Navigation (Idaho, Wash.)
TCS | Army Corps
Savannah Harbor Expansion (Ga., S.C.)
TCS | Army Corps
New Jersey Beach Replenishment (N.J.)
TCS | Army Corps
Long Island Beach Replenishment (N.Y.)
TCS | Army Corps
|
May 17, 2002 -- For decades, the Army Corps of Engineers has been criticized for building wasteful projects. As the keeper of the nation's rivers, the agency has been damming, levying and dredging waterways to the tune of $1 billion a year. But the Corps recently announced it's suspending 150 new projects. For All Things Considered, NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on an agency under pressure to reform.
Critics of the Corps say change is long overdue; they point to an extensive list of environmentally and economically flawed projects. For instance, watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense questions why national taxpayers are picking up the tab on projects that only benefit a few hundred people, like the dredging of Alabama's Dog River.
The environmental group National Wildlife Federation goes so far as to call the Corps one of the most environmentally destructive agencies in the nation's history. NWF president Mark Van Putten argues the Corps' systems of levies, dams and locks have destroyed river spawning grounds, wildlife habitat and wetlands. He says wetlands, as the natural sponges of the nation's river systems, offer better flood control than engineered levies, which only prevent flooding in one small area.
In Van Putten's view, the Corps still operates on the outdated assumption that engineers can tame or control nature.
The Corps has also been reprimanded in recent years by both the Army's inspector general and the National Academy of Sciences.
The Corps' original mission, which goes back to the early 1800s, was to ensure navigable waters for commerce. Since then, according to Corps senior historian Martin Reuss, the agency has not tried to expand its empire, but rather has successfully taken on varied projects assigned to it -- by the public.
Reuss adds that the Corps is no longer comprised of just engineers focused on building. Today, there are scores of biologists, economists and other scientists on staff. These professionals have brought a new mindset to the Corps, says Royce. He rejects the notion that the agency takes on construction projects without fully considering environmental effects.
In late April, the Corps announced it was tagging 150 authorized projects for further review, but it's withholding comment on the list of halted projects until details are worked out.
On Capitol Hill, a bill put forward by a small group of lawmakers would require local communities who benefit from a project to bear a larger cost of the construction. They say if cost-sharing reforms pass, some of the projects that looked so delicious when they were nearly free may suddenly not be so attractive.
In Depth
 Browse for more NPR stories about the Corps.
Other Resources
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters.
• Read a news release on the Corps' decision to halt projects.
• Taxpayers for Common Sense Corpswatch Campaign.
• Read its report on Corps projects.
• Read about efforts to reform the Corps at the National Wildlife Federation and American Rivers Web sites.
• Read a 2002 American Rivers report on the most endangered rivers. The activist organization says the Corps is to blame for some of the listings.
|
