Thursday December 7 2:57 AM ET
Feds Say Army Officials Rigged Data

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Critics who long have claimed that Army Corps of
Engineers
projects are environmentally harmful, money-wasting boondoggles say a
scathing new Pentagon (news - web sites) report on the agency should
open
some eyes on Capitol Hill.

An Army inspector general investigation released Wednesday confirmed
whistle-blower allegations that three top corps officials doctored a
case
for spending $1 billion to expand barge locks on the Mississippi and
Illinois rivers.

Conservation and taxpayer groups said they hoped the report would boost
efforts to change how the corps does business.

``This is an opportunity,'' said corps economist Don Sweeney, who made
the
allegations that prompted the probe. ``Things that people have suspected
for
years now have been elevated to the light of day. ... Some good things
could
happen.''

In addition to finding evidence of misconduct involving the proposed
lock
project, the investigation concluded the officials created ``a climate
that
led to abandonment of objectivity'' that could affect the evaluation of
any
river construction project.

``The overall impression conveyed by testimony of corps employees was
that
some of them had no confidence in the integrity of the corps' study
processes,'' the report said.

It was that broader conclusion - as well as another that found ``strong
indications'' of a culture of bias throughout the corps toward giving
construction a green light - that most heartened corps critics who want
additional controls added to the process of evaluating costly,
controversial
projects.

``The investigation found the Army Corps' planning process is
systematically
biased in favor of building projects, no matter what the need and no
matter
what the cost to the taxpayers and the environment,'' said Environmental

Defense attorney Tim Searchinger.

Investigators said that bias was caused by a desire to boost the
agency's
construction budget, a tendency to treat the barge industry as a
customer,
and the conflict of interest created by district employees' jobs
depending
on obtaining funding for projects from Capitol Hill.

``The Army Corps of Engineers is in serious need of a complete
overhaul,''
said Steve Ellis, director of water resources for Taxpayers for Common
Sense. ``Hopefully the results of today will remind the corps of that
fact,
and Congress and the administration will ensure that it is a lesson the
corps won't forget.''

Legislation to require reforms, such as outside review and higher
consideration of environmental costs, made little progress in Congress
this
year - stymied mostly by the cozy relationship between Capitol Hill and
an
agency responsible for projects popular back home.

But Army Secretary Louis Caldera has asked the head of the corps, Lt.
Gen.
Robert Flowers, to submit within 60 days recommend changes to the
project
evaluation process.

And though the probe did not find criminal violations by the three
officials, the evidence of alleged misconduct by the now-retired
second-in-command at the corps, the Mississippi Valley division
commander
and the now-retired district chief has been forwarded to the Army vice
chief
of staff to determine disciplinary action.

The three officials denied wrongdoing in testimony included in the
report,
as have corps officials since the allegations surfaced.

Corps spokesman Ron Fournier said the agency had not seen the report and
had
no comment. However, the corps recently decided to delay its
recommendations
to Congress on the lock project by at least a year to replace faulty
economic forecasts.

The corps, an Army branch with a $4 billion budget for flood control and

river navigation construction, makes recommendations to Congress on
which of
its projects to fund after analyzing which ones have the most net
benefit to
taxpayers.

The controversy was ignited in February when Sweeney filed his
allegations
with the federal Office of Special Counsel, which then directed the Army

inspector general to investigate.

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