Whistleblower on New Orleans Flawed Pumps

Whistleblower on New Orleans Flawed Pumps



October 2007

 The main pumps protecting New 
Orleans in the event of a major hurricane or flood are "inherently flawed" 
due to poor design and still have not been properly tested, according to 
whistleblower disclosure documents released today by Public Employees for 
Environmental Responsibility, PEER. 
The top U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specialist assigned to oversee the 
city's new pumping system says that key safeguards were circumvented and 
"there is an erroneous assumption that…hydraulic pumps are fully 
operational, and hence, the risk to the public remains high," in the words 
of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. 
Maria Garzino, a veteran Corps civil engineer, who was the team leader of 
pumping systems installation for New Orleans, has filed for federal 
whistleblower status with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, OSC. 
In a September 21 letter, the OSC notified Defense Secretary Robert Gates 
that it found Garzino's charges credible. 
Writing from the OSC's office, Scott Bloch informed the defense secretary, 
"I have concluded that there is a substantial likelihood that the 
information she provided to the Office of Special Counsel discloses 
violations of law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste 
of funds, and a substantial and specific danger to public health." 
By law, Secretary Gates must respond within 60 days. 
Bloch's letter states, "My office has received serious allegations which 
cast doubt on the integrity of costly pumping equipment installed in three 
main structures by the USACE and its ability to protect New Orleans from 
further flooding." 
The three structures are located at 17th Street, Orleans Avenue, and 
London Avenue. 
"A failure of the pumping equipment to function properly during a time of 
flooding may be yet another catastrophic event for New Orleans, a city 
still recovering from Hurricane Katrina," Bloch wrote. 
In her disclosure, Garzino outlined extensive problems with the hydraulic 
pumps that the Corps overlooked in order to allow the contractor "to meet 
time-sensitive deadlines, and to avoid government imposed damages and 
instead earn financial incentives." 
While serious problems with the pumps previously identified by Garzino in 
2006 - including "catastrophic failure" from gears "blowing up" - had been 
acknowledged by the Corps, the agency now asserts that these concerns have 
all been resolved. 
Garzino, to the contrary, argues that the Corps review team under the 
command of Brigadier Gen. Robert Crear "arrived on a Friday and then 
provided a report by Saturday night" without enough time to address 
technical issues or even interview Garzino. That report was issued on June 
4, 2007. 
She maintains that in the summer of 2007, additional pumps were installed 
and tested but the reliability of the original 40 pumps is still being 
assumed, despite strong indications that they could not function under a 
full "load" for substantial periods of time. 
Corps commanders deliberately evaded "adequate performance testing 
requirements" and approved improper contract modifications, Garzino 
alleges. 
Garzino filed the disclosure with the OSC after finding that the Corps 
"misled [her] into believing that USACE was going to properly address the 
pumping equipment problems." 
At the same time, "the media had already been informed that the pumps were 
operational." 
"The Corps clearly still suffers from crippling integrity failures," said 
PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting the rising calls for "Corps 
Reform" stemming from reports by other agency whistleblowers. "As at 
Walter Reed Hospital, Secretary Gates will have to clean house at the 
Corps." 

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