Meanwhile, it's hurricane season

Corps watchdog Matt McBride has a new post up concerning some little-publicized work the Corps has been doing on the outfall canals.  McBride's observations of the dug out soil from the levees under maintenance lead him to believe that it may contain unsafe quantities of debris.

By any standard, including the Corps', the dirt coming out of the levees at both these sites would be unsuitable for use in any levee. How do we know that? The Corps themselves said so just four years ago, during a different debris mess that made the news.

In late 2009 and early 2010, reports emerged about large amounts of concrete and other debris being found in the top layers of lakefront levee in Kenner during an enlargement project. That soil had been trucked there in the early 2000's and had not been systematically checked for debris. After a couple of Times-Picayune articles, the Corps held a public meeting on January 28, 2010.