Army Corps Completes Hasty Project Review

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, May 21, 2002 (ENS) - Of the 172 civil works projects that were put on hold April 30 for review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, all but eight have been cleared for continued construction, the agency announced Monday. Conservation and public interest groups said the speed of the Corps' decision indicates that the agency never intended a thorough, comprehensive review of the projects' environmental and economic justification.

On Monday, the Corps published a list of 172 projects that had been examined to determine whether detailed economic or other reviews were required. Of that list, 46 projects were already undergoing a more thorough reevaluation.

Independent auditors have criticized a number of massive Corps projects including proposed expansions of the lock and dam system on the Upper Mississippi River, a project the Corps has spent about $60 million to study. (Photos courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The Corps' director of civil works, Major General Robert Griffin, ordered a halt to further development of the 172 projects on April 30 after conservation groups and a number of news organizations raised questions about the accuracy of the agency's economic and environmental analyses in support of the projects.

Environmental groups, Congressional leaders and newspaper editorial boards welcomed the move and urged the Corps to conduct the review in a transparent manner to enhance trust in the agency, which has been tainted by scandal over several major projects in recent years.

The Corps has a backlog of projects that will take more than $50 billion in taxpayer dollars to complete, and it proposes more projects every two years. Two independent watchdogs, the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Army Inspector General, have determined that the agency has a bias toward large construction projects, and has on at least one occasion manipulated data to deceive Congress about the costs and benefits of a proposed project.

The current review included projects that the Congress has authorized but which are not yet under construction. The Corps has now singled out those projects with an economic assessment produced before 1999, and those where the agency believes economic, engineering or environmental conditions may have changed.

Based on those criteria, the Corps cleared 118 projects to proceed on schedule, called for new economic analyses for seven projects, and authorized a new analysis of just one project.

"We learned after calling for the pause that many of the projects were already under review," Griffin said. "We must be careful to ensure that all our projects constitute a sound investment for our nation and are environmentally sustainable."

In April, the Corps suspended a dredging project on the Delaware River after a Congressional review raised questions regarding whether the project is financially justified. (Photo by Anthony Bley)

"The Corps of Engineers had the opportunity to come clean," said Jeff Stein, policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense. "They had the chance to restore some of the agency's credibility on how they conduct business, but they blew it."

The two week review performed since the Corps is the only reexamination that will be given to those 118 projects. Many of the most controversial projects that appear on the full list, including nine projects highlighted in a 2000 report by Taxpayers for Common Sense and National Wildlife Federation as the most wasteful Army Corps water projects in the nation, received no more than this brief look, the groups noted.

The conservation group American Rivers was particularly critical of the Corps' decision on two controversial projects - the construction of the Yazoo Pumps near the mouth of the Big Sunflower River in Mississippi and proposed navigation improvements along Arkansas' White River.

In April, American Rivers placed the Big Sunflower and the White River on its annual "America's Most Endangered Rivers" list and called on the Corps to abandon these projects.

"Most Americans believe that there ought to be a sensible balance between protecting the environment and growing the economy," said American Rivers president Rebecca Wodder. "There is nothing sensible about the Corps spending tax dollars to build projects that cost more than they're worth and damage the environment at the same time."

The Corps' announcement comes at Congress prepares to consider legislation to reform Corps operations. In March, Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, joined Senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican, and Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, in introducing the Corps of Engineers Modernization and Improvement Act of 2002 (S 1987).

Army Corps dredging for beach renourishment on Tybee Island, Georgia. (Photo by Jonas Jordan)

This week, critics of the Corps said its hasty project review lends ammunition to the bill's supporters.

"This list is a sham that creates further doubt that this agency can be trusted with spending billions of taxpayer dollars," said Stein. "With the review, many of us thought that the Corps was heading down the road to reform. But, this list just proves that this agency is incapable and unwilling to reform itself."

A list of the reviewed Corps projects is available at: http://www.amrivers.org/docs/armycorpslist.pdf