EXTERNAL REVIEW PANEL DELIVERS FINAL ASSESSMENT TO THE IPET, POINTS OUT RISKS TO NEW ORLEANS

摘要

In a letter dated September 3, ASCE'S External Review Panel (ERP)- the team of experts convened by the Society in November 2005 at the behest of Lieutenant General Carl A. Strock, P.E., M.ASCE, then the commander and chief of engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-provided their final analysis of the work performed by the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET), the body commissioned by the Corps to assess the performance of the hurricane protection system in New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana. Addressed to Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp, the present commander and chief of engineers of the Corps, the letter is largely positive about the IPET'S work with respect to "Draft Final Volume I: Executive Summary and Overview" and "Draft Final Volume VIII: Engineering and Operational Risk and Reliability Analysis," both of which are components of the June 2008 draft of the final report. However, the letter also speaks to the considerable risks that remain for the residents of New Orleans with respect to the effect of an enormous hurricane on the New Orleans area and of the dangers posed to residents.