With the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finally released their years-overdue report on providing hurricane protection for Louisiana.  But critics point to both a lack of specificity and little commitment to more modern cost-effective approaches to science and engineering. The tab for drafting the so-called “Cat 5” plan alone is $23 million, with millions more slated before completion. The possible price tag of whatever the Corps actually builds could exceed $100 billion for just the New Orleans area.

The media routinely reports about natural disasters and the human suffering and economic damage caused by them. But most “natural” disasters are actually “man-made” – meaning we built in harm’s way and Mother Nature is just reminding us who is boss. Like the proverbial tree in the forest, if a Category 4 hurricane slams into the coast and there’s no development to be destroyed or lives lost, is it still a natural disaster? Probably not.

So key to any cost-effective solution to natural disasters is, quite frankly, getting people and critical infrastructure out of harm’s way. That said, you aren’t going to remove Miami or New Orleans or much of the Gulf oil and gas infrastructure from the floodplain, so you need to provide ample protection for these areas.

But as the rock star engineering and scientific review panel of the National Academy of Science pointed out , the report “does not offer a comprehensive long-term plan for structural, nonstructural, and restoration measures across coastal Louisiana, nor does it suggest any initial, high-priority steps that might be implemented in the short term.” Instead, the panel complains that “a variety of different types of structural and nonstructural options are presented, with no priorities for implementation.” It’s like going to the doctor and getting an enormous array of costly treatment options without the doctor recommending a particular course of action.

We’ve seen this movie before. The Corps likes to build things, and they’ve been building levees since the 19th century. And remember, it was Corps levees that failed, inundating New Orleans in the wake of Katrina that August four years ago.  So while the report talks about non-structural approaches like relocation, zoning, and wetland restoration, lurking below the surface is the idea of building a series of Great Walls of Louisiana. And to add insult to injury, history has shown that like in Field of Dreams, if you build a levee, they will come. Without strong restrictions in place, new flood protection induces development and puts more people and infrastructure in harm’s way for when the inevitable storm hits.

Images of destruction and suffering resulting from Katrina are seared in the nation’s consciousness. The public has shown a willingness to help this part of the country rebuild and protect itself.  Particularly in this difficult budget climate, however, we cannot afford to lackadaisically pursue expensive failed solutions of the past. Louisianans and the Corps are going to have to make tough choices about where to rebuild, what to protect, and how. We cannot afford another Katrina and we cannot afford a Great Wall of Louisiana that doesn’t work anyway.