Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times reports a new study has raised questions about the strength of the levees around New Orleans. Engineers at UC Berkeley said the levees have a wide range of design and construction defects and that there are serious doubts that the system can withstand the pounding of another hurricane the size of Katrina. The paper reports the findings undermine assurances by the Bush administration and the Army Corps of Engineers that the $3 billion spent on the levees will provide a higher level of protection to New Orleans. The study also questions the competency of the Corps of Engineers to oversee public safety projects across the nation. The study criticized the Corps for not detecting problems such as the fact that sections of the levees were built with crushed seashells.