Groups Urge Response from Army Corps to Distorted Economic Analysis

(17 February 2000 ? Washington) Environmental Defense along with other environmental and outdoor groups sent letters today to three top US government officials asking for “immediate and vigorous response” to serious distortions in the economic analysis of the proposed Upper Mississippi River Navigation Expansion project.

The letters were sent by the heads of Environmental Defense, American Rivers, the Izaac Walton League, National Wildlife Federation, and the Sierra Club to Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, Assistant Secretary of the Army Dr. Joseph Westphal, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jack Lew. The letters are available at www.environmentaldefense.org on the web.

The letter to Dr. Westphal states, “Unless you quickly remedy both the specific problem with the Upper Mississippi River project and initiate a process to remedy the broader problem of system culture, the public will have no capacity to trust the analysis of future projects.”

The letter requests positive action to protect the Corps employees involved in the disclosure and asks Dr. Westphal to cancel lock extension or at least seek a wholly independent review by distinguished economists and engineers. The letter also seeks a thorough independent investigation and appropriate punishment of wrongdoing

Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization based in New York, represents more than 300,000 members. Since 1967 we have linked science, economics, and law to create innovative, equitable, and cost-effective solutions to the most urgent environmental problems.