White House whitewashes Corps of Engineers' report

Didn't I just write a post about how the Corps of Engineers needs to be isolated from politics?

Here we go again:

The Army Corps of Engineers, which was directed by Congress to prepare a report on how to protect Louisiana from a Category 5 hurricane, is poised to issue a vaguely-worded document that will not list the specific projects that would be needed to secure the state's fragile coastline. ...

In a letter to Maj. Gen. Don T. Riley Friday, Blanco coastal adviser Sidney Coffee was critical of a White House "policy review (that) resulted in the rewriting of the entire executive summary and much of the report, without consultation with the Corps/State Project Delivery Team."

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who authored the language requiring the report, said missing the deadline "would be cause for concern entirely on its own.

"But even more troubling is that this delay appears to be the result of highly unusual attempts" to strip from the report the recommendations of corps engineers.

"We are looking to the corps to present their best analysis of what steps need to be taken to protect the people, communities and national infrastructure along Louisiana 's coast -- not another policy paper from the administration," Landrieu said in a statement.

This is more White House whitewashing of scientific fact to avoid public embarrassment, and to promote its agenda.

Oyster has a comprehensive review of White House statements in opposition to a Category 5 plan, as well as a great argument for how a $200 million investment on levee improvements in Pennsylvania prevented a billion in damages by recent flooding.

Related:

Organizational dysfunction at the Corps of Engineers

James Hansen should get a medal

Disassembling dissembly on global warming

Global warming naysayer couldn't take the heat

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