US Army Corps to suspend work on 150 projects
Date: 02-May-02
Country: USA
Author: Christopher Doering
The Corps said it would reassess projects approved prior to 1999 before they could move forward. New studies would also be required for projects affected by changed economic, scientific or environmental conditions.
"This action is part of a more comprehensive initiative that Corps projects are a sound investment for our nation and are proposed in an environmentally sustainable way," Maj. Gen. Robert Griffin, director of civil works with the Corps, said in a statement.
The statement followed criticism by the Bush administration in its fiscal 2003 budget that the increasing number of jobs being overseen by the Corps has hindered the agency's overall performance and slowed completion of existing projects.
The administration set spending by the Corps at $4.026 billion, down from $4.486 billion in 2002, and proposed that the agency be prevented from starting new programs while it reduced its estimated $40 billion backlog.
The Corps, the federal agency responsible for building dams and designating flood plains, has been criticized by Congress for underestimating spending costs and manipulating data to support projects that create jobs, favor large business and support local lawmakers.
The most controversial Corps plan is a $60 million study that endorsed upgrading the 70-year-old lock and dam system along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
Environmental groups reacted cautiously to the Corps' announcement, saying legislation was still needed to fully reform the agency.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress during the last few years that would require an independent panel to determine the economic and environmental impact of some of the Corps' proposed projects.
"Taxpayers remain cautiously optimistic that this could be the beginning of a new era of fiscal responsibility for the Corps of Engineers," said Keith Ashdown, a spokesman for Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group.
"However, it is only a first step and Congress needs to proceed with pending legislation to reform this embattled agency," he said.
