Group: Close New Orleans ship channel - AP

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 · Last updated 8:15 p.m. PT

Group: Close New Orleans ship channel

By CAIN BURDEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NEW ORLEANS -- A coalition of scientists, environmentalists and politicians
on Tuesday told the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close a shipping channel
that scientists say contributed to the devastating deluge of parts of eastern
New Orleans, including the Lower Ninth Ward.

The Corps is expected to release a report next Wednesday to outline what
should be done with the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a channel built in the
1960s that has destroyed hundreds of square miles of wetlands. It was built
as a shortcut to New Orleans and a way to kick-start the development of
reclaimed swampland east of New Orleans that wound up drowned by
Hurricane Katrina.

The coalition also issued a report, which said in part, "The Mississippi River
Gulf Outlet, known locally as Mister Go, was a bad idea when constructed
and has become a worse one every year."

The document, unambiguously called "Mister Go Must Go," was handed out
to members of Congress, who will have a say on what direction the Corps
takes.

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