Levees not up to spec?

In ongoing Katrina news, hmmm:

"This should not have been a big deal for these floodwalls," said oceanographer G. Paul Kemp, a hurricane expert who runs LSU's Natural Systems Modeling Laboratory. "It should have been a modest challenge. There's no way this should have exceeded the capacity."

If he's right, that's a hell of a way to find out the contractor stiffed you. Haven't people been saying the spots that gave way had been fixed recently?

UPDATE 9/21/2005: More detail over at Mudville.