NEW ORLEANS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A federal judge in New Orleans on Friday ruled that residents of areas heavily flooded when Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters were funneled down a New Orleans navigation channel can sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval rejected the Corps' argument that U.S. law protects federal agencies from lawsuits when when flood control projects fail. Duval accepted arguments that the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was not a flood control project but rather a navigation channel and therefore not exempt from lawsuits. The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, commonly referred to as "Mister Go," is a 50-year-old navigation channel that allows ships to move from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans' inner harbor. Flood waters moving down the MR-GO inundated the city's east side, especially the Lower Ninth Ward, as Hurricane Katrina roared ashore at the end of August 2005. "Judge Duval's ruling today is a landmark victory for the Katrina victims in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish," said plaintiffs' attorney Pierce O'Donnell. "The government of the United States has stonewalled us in court for a year and a half." The canal has been controversial since construction began in the late 1950s. Critics say it has allowed salt water to eat away cypress swamps and the wave action from passing ships has damaged wetlands adjacent to the canal.
