"Judge Rules Feds Must Pay for Katrina Flood Damage"

"A federal judge ruled Friday that the Army Corps of Engineers' construction and management of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) channel had created a "ticking time bomb" for the New Orleans area and that the federal government must pay for some of the flood damage from Hurricane Katrina and subsequent storms.

In a 74-page ruling, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Susan Braden said the storm damage qualifies as a 'temporary taking' under the Fifth Amendment -- a ruling that opens the door for the first time to federal liability when environmental changes make an Army Corps project more vulnerable.

The fact that the channel played a role in Hurricane Katrina is generally agreed upon. Multiple government reports have found that the 76-mile navigation channel, which was maintained by the Army Corps, had eroded to more than three times its authorized width by 2005, destroying wetlands that shielded nearby communities from storms and creating a funnel that directed storm surge from Katrina to central New Orleans."

Annie Snider reports for Greenwire May 4, 2015.