Apparently the levees are the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers, and they are already whining that their budget has been cut so much by Bush that they did not perform any maintenance on the levees in the last year. The Corps is the most self-aggrandizing and wasteful agency in the entire government. By the time this is over, the Corps is going to be saying they have been operating with quill pens, abacuses, and candles for the last five years.
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/images/nolalevees_jpg.jpg <- Some levees under local control
Q.3. Why only Category 3 protection?
A.3. That is what we were authorized to do. [Answer by the Corps of Engineers]http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/083005cccawwlunwatering.45718845.html