Corps of Engineers: Problems in West Bank levee

An Army Corps of Engineers report has found debris buried in a levee built after Hurricane Katrina.

The levee protects the densely populated suburban West Bank neighborhoods across the Mississippi River from the main portion of the city.

The report says the levee meets the corps' design specifications and is not in danger of failure because of any unsuitable debris. But the report advises the corps to consider shoring up one portion of the levee built atop a "buried debris field."

The corps "tiger team" was sent in after the local levee authority complained about finding debris in levees being built around the West Bank. Local inspectors reported finding tree trunks, a shopping cart, chunks of concrete and bricks in the levees.