FYI - re Corps

[Kent]

Another disturbing COE deal from the LaGrange paper -
<A HREF="http://=http://www.lagrangenews.com" TARGET=_blank>
=http://www.lagrangenews.com</A>
It will be archived tomorrow, so here's the text -

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"Possible leadership changes in Washington could set back progress made in protecting West Point Lake's water levels, according to Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Barr.

At a town hall meeting Monday, Barr addressed local water issues and expressed concern over potential leadership in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the congressional subcommittee on water resources and environment.

Currently, six House members are wanting to form a 50- to 60-member Corps Reform Caucus to develop plans for help in restructuring the corps. The hype began last September, when the Washington Post reported widespread deceit to continue boondoggle projects that harm the environment.

The Post's report came from a February account of a corps whistleblower, who claimed top level corps officials "cooked" financial numbers of a cost-benefit analysis of canal lock construction on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

This follows closely the transition in presidential administrations, which typically brings changes to the head of several governmental departments, Barr said.

Among those slated for a possible change is the Army Office for Civil Works, which heads the corps. In recent years Barr and the local West Point Lake Congressional Task Force have made great strides with its current leader, Assistant Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal.

But recently, Westphal suffered a heart attack and underwent quintuple bypass surgery.

Last August, Westphal said in a letter to Barr that a preliminary study had determined that commercial navigation on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system is not "economically feasible or environmentally justified."

There is another obstacle in Barr's way: Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, chairman of the congressional subcommittee on water resources and environment Ð who became a supporter of Barr's efforts to re-examine the authorized uses of the local river system Ð has stepped down as head of this subcommittee because of a six-year term limit.

Last November he ordered a year-long in-depth study of the ACF to determine the extent of Westphal's initial findings.

Like with the other divisions, Barr said he plans to meet with the subcommittee's new leader, Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and let this region's problems and concerns be known.

Barr also sounded alarm over the Tri-State water negotiations. He said the talks came dangerously close to ending last December, but an 11th hour extension pushed the deadline back to May 1.

For roughly 10 years, legislators from Alabama, Georgia and Florida have been bickering over how the water that flows thorough each state would be allocated. If an agreement cannot be reached by state negotiators, the federal Supreme Court will make the decision....."
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Probably a lot more at stake here than with "fishing bubbas" & "improper c&r's" - these people do stuff we get little info about & little info into, and it often has major impact (long & short term).

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Kent
Flyfishing West Georgia & Beyond

[This message has been edited by Kent (edited 02-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Kent (edited 02-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Kent (edited 02-08-2001).]