The Army Corps of Engineers, the country’s construction branch, is known for dredging and dam projects that serve political needs rather than public safety or environmental needs. A reform bill now before the Senate would change this by requiring independent review of Corps projects and, if an amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins is enacted, an assessment of the climate change implications of its projects. Given the importance of Corps projects and the dangerous and expensive consequences of more powerful storms and other climate changes, these improvements are needed and long overdue.

Last year, the Senate passed an Army Corps reform bill, but it was not reconciled with a weaker House version. With a new Congress, rewriting the Water Resources Development Act has begun again, informed by the problems revealed by Hurricane Katrina.

In its evaluation of the performance of the New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Protection System during Hurricane Katrina, the Corps wrote that the city’s levees failed because of poor design and flawed construction. For example, the Corps did not account for poor soil quality or that the ground was sinking in some areas. It did not reconsider the height of the levees after being warned of this sinking. Failure of the levees flooded huge portions of New Orleans.

An independent review of the levee design and construction may have identified the need for modifications before the inadequate flood protection system was built and, ultimately failed. The Hurricane Katrina levee failures are the largest and most recent example of problems with Army Corps projects.

In Saco, residents of the Camp Ellis area blame the Corps construction of a breakwater at the mouth of the Saco River for beach erosion there. The area was hard hit by the April 16 storm, which destroyed seven homes in Camp Ellis.

The bill contains $25 million to rebuild the breakwater, a project that will be improved by ensuring that the faults with the current jetty – such as directing waves toward homes – are remedied.

On climate change, a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing last month highlighted government insurance programs’ failure to prepare for climate change while private companies are already addressing an expected continued growth in losses from worsening storms.

The Pentagon is already planning for the consequences of abrupt climate change, which for the United States could include a flood of starving immigrants from Mexico, South America and the Carribean Islands, causing the country to strengthen its borders. Tensions with Mexico could escalate if the United States reneges on a treaty that guarantees that some water from the Colorado River flow into Mexico. The consequences would be worse for Europe, Asia and East Africa, according to the Pentagon.

Given what the military and private companies are doing, it would be irresponsible for the Army Corps, which builds dams and levees for flood protection and dredges rivers and harbors for navigation, not to plan for changes in the climate.

The amendment, along with improvements in the Corps’ project planning and review, will ensure the agency better protects communities and the environment.