Katrina and the Federal Flood

Graphic from New Orleans blogger Suspect Device.

No, Bush didn't cause the hurricane and NOBODY IS SAYING THAT he did, except right-wingers throwing up strawmen. But the major damage in New Orleans was from the Federal Flood. The ACOE has admitted their culpability. I'd like to see that included in ever story this week.

As the magical El Gato Negro reminds us, Scout Prime at First Draft has been on top of this story since the beginning.

Why Must We Fight This Nightmare Every Day?

Gentilly Girl gives her "standard truth speech" about rebuilding New Orleans. There are lots of reasons both economic, historical, cultural and personal to bring New Orleans back. They are part of us, and frankly we owe them.

I think it would be useful for the people who think otherwise to have a conversation with some of the NOLA bloggers. I know lots of well meaning people have misconceptions about rebuilding. And then there are the "experts" who willfully get the story wrong and have written off New Orleans.

One thing I get from the NOLA bloggers is that this story is not over, and when they see or read or hear people who have written off the city and the area as not worthy to rebuild they are stunned, flabbergasted, and pissed off.

"What's the point? It's all below see level anyway." or "I thought it was mostly fine by now, I saw Mardi Gras on TV." or "Well it was an act of God, it's not as if the government caused it, they just want to blame George Bush for everything."

- Common Myths and Misconceptions on New Orleans

The media is event driven, and they have a hard time with stories that go on and on and on. Unless people like Matt at Fix the Pumps dig up some juicy incompetence and malfeasance, they will simply report on the next event that makes news.

The people in charge of PR for New Orleans think, "How can we get the tourists back?" that is their job, I get that. But that doesn't include showing all the destruction that still exists and the pathetic, tragic hold-ups. "Why would we want to promote the problems and dig up negative stories?" But someone should be thinking, "How can I keep the attention of the news media to keep the pressure on for the rebuilding?" The bloggers are trying, but it is exhausting to do that in addition to rebuilding their own lives. Here is part of Morwen's "standard truth speech", read the rest here.

New Orleans and SE Louisiana were shattered by the hands of man and the needs of a Nation. That’s what happened on 8/29. (the shorthand is for those who can only remember tiny bits of data)

[snip]

In all of the 200+ years you in the U.S. have “owned” us, we have never begged. We took care of things and kept going. We provided what was needed. (Many of my ancestors lie on the bottom of the oceans because they answered America’s call.)

We here in SE Louisiana have more than given our pound of flesh for this Nation, and it’s time to get a little bit of it back in order to rebuild our homeland. We have more than earned it. Otherwise… you have no idea of the Hell you will have to live in if we are gone from the scene or if we decide to leave your little confederation of states.

Think about it.

I’m Morwen Madrigal, and I must live to be 80 in order to pay the debt of repairing my home that was damaged for the Nation. I gave almost 10 years to this country in service, and am again saddled for another 30 years.

What have you given to America?

Morwen's question makes me think, it might make you think too, read the whole thing here.

When Bloggers Attack! (Houses, that is)

So the First Draft Krewe is in New Orleans Gutting a house that was destroyed during the flooding.


Krewe: Ray in New Orleans, Tom, June, Athenae, Mr. A, Sinfonian, Cynthia, Mike Danablog, Cheri and Harry (archeop). Spork_incident took the picture. This is the picture while we're all still clean and shiny.

Thanks for Scout and Athenae for organizing it.
With blogs we connect with words, this was a connection with actions. I'm proud to be a part of this group of lefty bloggers.

Heroes in the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

In San Francisco we have a budget analyst by the name of Harvey Rose (I'd refer to him as "the beloved" Harvey Rose, but that probably would embarrasses him). Harvey digs up stuff for the public in the SF Budget that looks wrong and points it out. I'm always in awe of his work and I hope we get someone as brilliant as him in the future.

Scout Prime over at First Draft loves the folks at the GAO because they are doing the thankless task of keeping an eye on government spending in multiple places (Hey, it occurred to me that I should thank them! Thank-you GAO folks! We love your work. It matters.)

I believe that there is good government spending and bad government spending.

The GAO helps spot the bad government spending. Of course the Bush White House hates them. When the White House sneers and spits out the word bureaucrats about the good folks at the GAO, it's because they want the public to hate them as much as they do. But Scout and I LOVE them. Why? Because these are the kind hard working public servants who hold people in power accountable. Their work is at the heart of the watchdog function of Congress. It might not be glamorous, but it's INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

They spot stuff and say, "Is this the best use of our taxpayer's money? Is there something fishy here?"

They pay attention to money and the people who spend it and get it. I'm proud of the work they do for me, the taxpayer. So besides thanking them I'll tell the rest of you what they are looking for now (I'm sure they've already found it. I'd LOVE to see a copy of it when they do, maybe they will provide it.)

If you are new to this story, Louisiana Sen. Landrieu called for an investigation of the flood control pumps involving Moving Water Industries and US Army Corps of Engineers. One important document will be the actual MWI contract with all the details. It's a starting point for them, they'll dig deeper. Good luck GAO, and thanks!
LLAP,
Spocko

Project Title: Emergency Procurement - Purchase of Temporary (Interim) Pumps for three outfall canals in New Orleans, LA

Solicitation Number: W912P8-06-R-0089

Contract Number: W912P8-06-C-0089

Type of Award: Firm Fixed Price

Name/Address of Contractor: MWI Corporation, 201 N. Federal HWY, Deerfield Beach, Florida 334441-3625

Contractor's Phone #: 954-426-1500

DUNS #: 004131512

Contract Amount*: $26,606,383.01 * total base and all options

Contract Award Amount: $26,606,383.01

Contract Award Date: 27 January 2006

Contracting Officer: Cynthia A. Nicholas

Contracting POC/Phone: Gayle Rose 504-862-1547

Dear David M. Walker:

Comptroller General of the United States
GAO

Tell your people thank you for your work on this project from Spocko, Scout and my New Orleans blogger friends.

LLAP,
Spocko

Iron Rings, Faulty Pumps, and Order of the Engineer

One evening about 17 years ago, over a glass of Romulan Ale, I noticed a small ring on the little finger of the right hand of a friend of mine, who is a registered professional engineer, a graduate from an engineering program at a Canadian University. I was used to seeing wedding rings on humans, but the location, shape and material stood out. I was told it was an iron ring from, "The Order of the Engineer."


I don't remember all the details, but the story as I remember it had to do with a huge bridge in Canada that collapsed due to poor planning and design. It also was a deeply moving story about engineers who didn't share information and didn't put the safety of people first over their employer or client. Additionally, it served as a reminder that their specialized knowledge brings with it an obligation to the public that transcends making money.

That story has always stuck with me. We always think that when it comes down to it we will "do the right thing" on the tough choices in life, but most people are good at making rationalizations for our own questionable actions. Or the questionable actions of our leaders.

Many people internalize the spin and excuses given us by our gifted entertainers or leaders who don't have the same ethical obligations as good engineers.

And by gifted entertainers who don't have the same ethical obligations as engineers,-I mean people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O' Reilly, Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan and Brian Susman.

Who are the people who put politics and allegiance to an authority figure above the lives of their other humans? Of course these people try and show how it is all in service of some greater good, like their understanding of what national security requires.

People who demonstrate their obligation to their client first, before the safety of people, will tell us that we should trust them and everything will be fine. But we have been shown time and time again that when people have a history of violating the public trust, they need to have solid oversight. It's an obvious, logical thing to do. Even the right-wing's god, Ronald Reagan, said "Trust, yet verify."

It is HARD to do the right thing when you have people telling you every day that the right thing is really NOT following the guidelines your profession tells you are there for a reason.

That is why I always thought the story of the Iron Ring and the accompanying ceremony was brilliant. It was a reminder that real lives are in the balance from your words and actions. It also helped to bind together new engineers and experienced engineers, connecting them to a history that means something in a fashion they can remember forever and can remind them about your obligations every day.

I am in awe of the technical marvels that engineers can create and build. An iron ring might remind you of your responsibility to others, but it won't force you to take action. Especially if you have convinced yourself that "Those other people are worse!" or "It's not that big a deal, everything will be fine." or "Something that doesn't really work is better than nothing."

Rolling the dice with people's lives is something that politicians do all the time. They have no obligation to tell the truth if they think that it isn't necessary. That is who THEY are.
Who are you? What are YOUR obligation to others?

---------------------------------------------------

This post is dedicated to all the people who died in the flooding in New Orleans and the 86 bridgeworkers who died in the construction of the Quebec Bridge. With a hope that no more lives will be lost because of engineers who didn't share information or put the safety of people over their employer or client.


A body floats outside the Superdome in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
(James Nielsen AFP/Getty Images)
September 2, 2005

Landrieu Wants Flood Control Pumps Investigation

Louisiana Sen. Landrieu Wants Flood Control Pumps Investigation, Casts Votes on Iraq

Written by: BayouBuzz Staff

United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., on Thursday sent a letter to the Comptroller General of the United States, David M. Walker, requesting an investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on a recent news report that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knowingly installed defective flood-control pumps in Louisiana drainage canals.

“According to press accounts based on internal memoranda and eye witness testimony, the Army Corps of Engineers installed defective flood control pumps around the levee system that protects the New Orleans Metropolitan region,” Sen. Landrieu wrote. “Reportedly, despite awareness within the Army Corps of Engineers about the mechanical problems of the pumps provided by Moving Water Industries (MWI), installation continued.”

In addition to calling for an investigation into whether the Corps installed pumps they knew to be defective, Sen. Landrieu requested that the GAO determine if the pump design and installation contracts were given for any reason other than merit.

“The investigation should examine the contract arrangements with the company in question and should determine whether or not any improprieties exist in the award or fulfillment of these contracts,” Sen. Landrieu wrote.

Sen. Landrieu also requested that the investigation be completed within 60 days.

Earlier Thursday, Sen. Landrieu sought a full explanation on the issue from Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works John Woodley and the Corps Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Carl Strock. At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee hearing, Sen. Landrieu expressed her concern regarding the Corps’ budget, its projects in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Crops’ overall management.

[snip]

Emphasis mine, hotlink to internal memo mine.
--From the BayouBuzz.com

Now what is Landrieu alluding to regarding " any improprieties exist in the award or fulfillment of these contracts," ? Most likely that MWI has a documented history of improprieties in awards and fulfillment of government contracts. (Link to Saint Petersburg Times 2002 story) And who is DEEPLY connected to MWI? Jeb Bush.

U.S. fraud suit targets ex-partner of Jeb Bush

The Justice Department says a water pump company fraudulently helped Nigeria obtain $74-million in taxpayer-backed loans.

By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 15, 2002

---

The Justice Department says a water pump company fraudulently helped Nigeria obtain $74-million in taxpayer-backed loans.

Gov. Jeb Bush's former business partner in a venture to sell water pumps abroad defrauded the U.S. government of more than $74-million, federal authorities contend in a lawsuit.

The Justice Department alleges that MWI Corp. of Deerfield Beach, a water pump company whose equipment Bush marketed to foreign countries, fraudulently helped Nigeria obtain U.S. taxpayer-backed loans during his father's administration.

Much of the loan money went for secret payoffs to Nigerian officials and equipment that was vastly overpriced and unneeded, the lawsuit says.

The company denies the allegations, many of which surfaced four years ago when a former MWI employee sued the company.

Bush, campaigning for governor at the time, shrugged off questions about the deal as little more than complaints from a disgruntled former staffer.

Now the Justice Department is making many of the same charges.

The pump deals occurred years before Bush became governor, and the lawsuit neither mentions him by name nor accuses him of wrongdoing.

But it suggests MWI used its political influence in the Republican Party to win the U.S. loans, and notes that MWI president J. David Eller went into business with "a member of a prominent national political family in an attempt to bolster MWI's sales abroad."

That's a reference to Jeb Bush.

In 1989, Eller, a major Republican contributor, formed a company with Bush, Bush-El, to market MWI's industrial water pumps abroad. Bush has described Eller as a "person of integrity."

Twice while his father was in the White House, Bush visited Nigeria as a water pump representative. He visited Nigerian dignitaries and was showered with attention, including a parade for him in 1989 with 1,300 horses.

Jeb Bush sold his share in Bush-El in 1994, and has said he earned about $648,000 from the company. [Spocko note: Compared to Cheney he's a piker! Where are the Whitewater screamers demanding we looking this deal?]

He has insisted that he received no money on the Nigerian deals, saying he took no commissions on sales backed by U.S. loans to avoid a potential conflict of interest. He said his earnings came from his work in other countries, including Mexico, Indonesia and Malaysia, but in 1998 declined to detail that work.

"You either trust me or you don't," he told the Miami Herald in 1998.

Emphasis mine.
[Snip] read the rest at the St Petersburg Times, including the methods and MWIs response.

According to the AP this Nigerian case hasn't been resolved. But you know something I noticed? Look at how people tiptoe around Jeb Bush's connection to this. Now why is that? Because if you EVER bring up a SPECIFIC and documented connection of wrong doings and the Bushes you get howls of "partisian attacks!" and "Politically motivated attacks!" by the right-wing enablers in the media.

But this tiptoeing around Jeb Bush's involvement ALREADY IS a partisan activity.
They have convinced the media, and maybe the DOJ, that you can't come out and SAY JEB BUSH IS CONNECTED TO MWI, even when their is documented proof.

They say, "Follow the money." they also say "connect the dots", I'd like to add, "pay attention to the people ".

[edited to add Spocko note and fix spelling errors]

Bush Crony Gets New Orleans Pump Contract (Jeb not George)

Graphic from Michael at the 2millionth weblog (Wow, he got in early!)
I'm not surprised: Jeb Bush is closely connected with the company that supplied the Army Corps of Engineers with pumps that the Corps knew were defective. (link to Matt McBride Fix the Pumps). The defective pumps and drive units were installed in New Orleans last year.

Right now NOLA bloggers are checking into the contract details and memo details about Moving Water Industries (MWI). They might help the press answer some questions raised by MWI's comment in their press release put out by their lawyer.

The allegations in the memo were all dismissed by other inspectors on site, and also by three additional inspectors and five separate independent consultants that were brought in to re-inspect the pumps following the memo.

MWI was chosen in a competitive bid process and because of its world- leading expertise in designing and manufacturing pumps of the size, capacity and durability needed.

I think that people might like to see the memos where the "allegations" were dismissed (wow, lawyer speak much?). And what did the three additional inspectors find? Can we see that report? How about the independent consultants, who are they? Who paid them to re-inspect? What did they re-inspect? Could we see that report? Could you show it to Matt McBride?

Matt has already looked at some of their claims and blew holes in them. Again check out his
Calling BS post.

Here's the part that got me.

So to make this as clear as possible... Not only did the Corps install pumps they knew wouldn't work, not only did they simply give up throughout the entire year of 2006 on repairing the canal walls, they also recommended doubling the order of the known-to-them-to-be-defective pumps and drive units, assumedly with the same manufacturer - MWI.

The Money Flows. The Water Doesn't. MWI, New Orleans Pump Maker's Faulty Pumps

UPDATED BELOW

CAIN BURDEAU, an Associated Press Writer, did a story that is getting lots of play. Good. But as my friend Loki at Humid City points out, This section in the AP story is the "the money quote" It answers the question: Who made these defective water pumps? Moving Water Industries Corp. of Deerfield Beach, Fla. or MWI. Who is MWI?

MWI is owned by J. David Eller and his sons. Eller was once a business partner of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a venture called Bush-El that marketed MWI pumps. And Eller has donated about $128,000 to politicians, the vast majority of it to the Republican Party, since 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

MWI has run into trouble before. The U.S. Justice Department sued the company in 2002, accusing it of fraudulently helping Nigeria obtain $74 million in taxpayer-backed loans for overpriced and unnecessary water-pump equipment. The case has yet to be resolved. [Spocko. Note Maybe they were trying to get some money back after they fell for one of those email scams.]

Because of the trouble with the New Orleans pumps, the Corps has withheld 20 percent of the MWI contract, including an incentive of up to $4 million that the company could have collected if it delivered the equipment in time for the 2006 hurricane season.

Misgivings about the pumps were chronicled in a May 2006 memo provided to the AP by Matt McBride, a mechanical engineer and flooded-out Katrina victim who, like many in New Orleans, has been closely watching the rebuilding of the city's flood defenses.

The memo was written by Maria Garzino, a Corps mechanical engineer overseeing quality assurance at an MWI test site in Florida. The Corps confirmed the authenticity of the 72-page memo, which details many of the mechanical problems and criticizes the testing procedures used.

Loki also pointed out that Matt McBride at Fix the Pumps is the blogger that worked with the AP reporter to get this story out to a wider audience.

Check this out from the memo Matt McBride dug up. It's not "required reading at the academy" but maybe it should be (link)

1) Cause of the voluminous failures of the hydraulic pumps on the drive units is still unknown at this time - the manufacturer of the hydraulic pumps (Denison) has not yet provided any official input as to the failures being caused by a plethora of "bad" pumps, or, point to an as yet unknown design deficiency with the hydraulic system. This situation would provide for the possibility of future failures of the drive units at 100% until a design deficiency can be ruled out - in addition, there is the very likely possibility, more probable actually, that damaged hydraulic pumps starting the failure process have "passed" testing and are currently slated to be, or have been, installed.

2) The original contract specifications required 100% load testing of all pump assemblies - this requirement has subsequently been eliminated, and to date, less than 25% of all pump assemblies have been load tested (leaving potentially 75% not load tested), and, of the eight (8) pump assemblies that have been load tested, one has only been run for a few minutes at best and one other was run at 1/3 operating pressure (the hydraulic oil barely got warm enough to register). Of the remaining six (6) pump assemblies actually undergoing load testing (actually pumping water), three (3) - 50% - have experienced catastrophic failure. Of note, these three failed pump assemblies have also been the pump assemblies that have the most run time on them - leading me to the logical conclusion that, barring some extraordinary anomaly, the more you run them, the more likely catastrophic failures will occur.

For these reasons, and because I am fully aware the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends to proceed with the utmost care and diligence in all tasks associated with Task Force Guardian, I am writing this memorandum for record to ensure this situation is communicated as best as I can to the ultimate responsible authority.

Respectfully submitted,

Maria Garzino
USACE, Mechanical Engineer
Task Force Guardian

UPDATE:
So WMI responds to the article (link) Then be sure to read Matt McBride's response below.

MWI Responds to Media Reports on New Orleans Pumps

LD BEACH, Fla., March 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from MWI attorney William R. Scherer Jr. regarding media reports on MWI pumps in New Orleans:

The MWI pumps in New Orleans definitely would have done their job if needed during last year's hurricane season.

And they will do their job in the coming storm season, if needed.

The pumps were tested by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers again just this last weekend and they performed above required capacity.

We are proud of the lives our pumps have improved all over the world, saving people from life-threatening floods and bringing drinking water to people who need it.

Our pumps did, do and will work.

This was a pumping project of a scope and design that was never done before, accomplished under severe time constraints.

There have been problems along the way, but that is to be expected on an unprecedented project like this.

However, for every problem we have found a solution and we will continue to do that until everything works perfectly under the most strenuous and adverse conditions imaginable.

MWI will spend whatever it takes to make absolutely certain our pumps are operating properly when they are most needed.

We take our reputation -- and more importantly the lives and property of the people of New Orleans -- very seriously and will do whatever it takes to make absolutely certain our pumps do their job.

The allegations in the memo were all dismissed by other inspectors on site, and also by three additional inspectors and five separate independent consultants that were brought in to re-inspect the pumps following the memo.

MWI was chosen in a competitive bid process and because of its world- leading expertise in designing and manufacturing pumps of the size, capacity and durability needed.

MWI and all of our employees are proud to work with the Corps to ensure the safety of the people of New Orleans.

And Matt McBride points out some important info that is missing

Fix the pumps

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Calling BS

Now that the news about Maria Garzino's memo has broken all over the place, I thought a few points needed to be made.

Yesterday, the Corps flew Colonel Bedey, the head of the Hurricane Protection Office, back from Washington so he could be there when two local TV affiliates (Fox 8 and ABC 26) filmed four of the 17th Street pumps being run. The Corps pointed to this demonstration as proof that everything's just A-OK.

1) The Corps already ran these pumps last Saturday. The Times-Picayune buried a tiny article about it on page B-3 in Sunday's local section. Here's the article:

Corps pump tests get thumbs up

This article (and possibly the Corps' alerting the media about the test) was also a bid by the Corps to get out ahead of the news that broke yesterday. They obviously failed in that bid.

2) Those four pumps were ordered long after Maria's memo and after the other 34 pumps started failing last summer. They were part of an order of six extra pumps to MWI (total charge, about $4 million for all six). These four were actually the last pumps installed - they went just a couple of months ago (they weren't fully hooked up as of January 26, 2007) and are not the subject of Ms. Garzino's memo. That is, they were not in the original order of 34. Using these pumps as a demonstration to show that the other 34 are working is pure lying. The Corps is probably going to turn on those pumps again tomorrow for the Mayor. They represent about 800 cubic feet per second of capacity (theoretically). Pre-Katrina, over 10,000 cfs flowed down the 17th Street canal.

3) The test last Saturday, like the one last night, only went for about an hour. That was not mentioned in the Times-Picayune article. But ALL the floodgate pumps (there are no spares in case one or more fails during a storm) will have to run for 12 or maybe 24 hours during a tropical storm or hurricane. Why isn't the Corps running tests for the media that last that long? Because they know the pumps and their drive units probably can't hold out for that long.

Don't buy what the Corps is selling.
(Spocko Note: Bold mine)
[Snip]

So to make this as clear as possible... Not only did the Corps install pumps they knew wouldn't work, not only did they simply give up throughout the entire year of 2006 on repairing the canal walls, they also recommended doubling the order of the known-to-them-to-be-defective pumps and drive units, assumedly with the same manufacturer - MWI.
Matt McBride
More at Fix The Pumps