• Listen to this segment

A federal judge’s ruling on Wednesday against the Army Corps of Engineers has finally confirmed what many Gulf Coast residents have known for the past four years: that the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was in fact a man-made disaster. In his 189 page ruling, Judge Stanwood Duval wrote, “The Corps’ lassitude and failure to fulfill its duties resulted in a catastrophic loss of human life and property in unprecedented proportions… Furthermore, the Corps not only knew, but admitted by 1988, that the MRGO (Mississippi River Gulf Outlet) threatened human life… and yet it did not act in time to prevent the catastrophic disaster that ensued with the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina.” The suit in question was brought by three homeowners and one business owner, who are to be awarded $720,000 in damages. The Times Picayune in New Orleans estimates that the ruling sets a precedent that could encourage 100,000 more lawsuits. However the government is expected to veto the ruling.

GUESTS: Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation’s Coastal Louisiana Organizer

For more information, visit www.MRGOmustgo.org.