An independent evaluation released
in June by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), relying on the assessment of an
independent engineer, has determined that there are serious safety and
reliability issues with hydraulic pumps that were installed in New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina. These pumps are designed, in case of emergency, to
move flood water away from the city to the lake side of the floodgates. Despite
repeated internal reports that the pumps were faulty, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) and Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) have repeatedly
denied inherent flaws in the hydraulic pumps since 2007.
Government Accountability Project client Maria Garzino, a USACE mechanical and civil engineering expert, was the Pump Team Installation Leader who blew the whistle on several problems that render the pumps ineffective. After unsuccessfully taking her concerns to the Army Corps in August 2006, Garzino made a whistleblower disclosure in August 2007 to the OSC - the federal agency charged with investigating whistleblower disclosures and defending such employees. After assessing Garzino's charges and the DoDIG's response, the OSC determined in August 2008 that "...it appears that the pumps remain inadequately untested, and vulnerable to failure in the event of a hurricane."
Excerpted from commondreams.org.
Government Accountability Project client Maria Garzino, a USACE mechanical and civil engineering expert, was the Pump Team Installation Leader who blew the whistle on several problems that render the pumps ineffective. After unsuccessfully taking her concerns to the Army Corps in August 2006, Garzino made a whistleblower disclosure in August 2007 to the OSC - the federal agency charged with investigating whistleblower disclosures and defending such employees. After assessing Garzino's charges and the DoDIG's response, the OSC determined in August 2008 that "...it appears that the pumps remain inadequately untested, and vulnerable to failure in the event of a hurricane."
Excerpted from commondreams.org.
