After criticism from state consultants and an internal review, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scrapped its $300 million plan for shoring up the aging dike around Lake Okeechobee.

The agency unveiled a more ''robust'' design on Thursday that would better withstand hurricanes and high water, but it also would cost ''significantly'' more -- in large part because it would require buying residential backyards and other private properties in the shadow of the earthen levee ringing Florida's largest lake.

While Corps leaders could not estimate how much the work might cost or when it might be completed, they called it a top priority to upgrade the structure that protects more than 40,000 people -- particularly after last year's harsh lesson from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

''Public safety trumps everything else. It's impossible to put a value on human life,'' said Stephen Duba, the Corps' district engineering chief, in a conference call with reporters. ``I don't see any crack in the commitment by the Corps of Engineers or Congress to pursue this project.''

The 70-year-old, 143-mile-long Herbert Hoover Dike has long leaked, but concerns over its integrity intensified in the wake of Katrina, which overwhelmed a faulty levee system and flooded New Orleans.

In May, a panel of engineering experts hired by South Florida water managers issued an alarming report pronouncing the dike a ''grave and imminent danger,'' prompting Gov. Jeb Bush to urge immediate federal action.

The massive levee was built after hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 swamped Belle Glade and surrounding towns, drowning 3,000 people. Though a football-field wide at its base, the levee was constructed to 1930s standards and consisted of uncompacted sand, peat and fill, much of it dredged up from the lake.

While the Corps initially defended the safety of the dike and its repair plan, the agency halted the first leg of work in July after problems developed in getting a cement-like ''cutoff'' wall dug into the dike to properly harden. The Corps also said it wanted to complete a technical review prompted by the state report.

Now, after scrutiny by 11 engineers, nine from the Corps and two from the South Florida Water Management District, the Corps has overhauled its plan.

Though repairs will take decades to complete, the technical experts echoed state leaders in calling for a faster schedule.

Paul Grosskruger, commander of the Corps' Jacksonville-based district, called repairs his ''top priority.'' Work could begin again by February, Corps officials said.

While the new repair plan has not been finalized, the agency intends to adopt a key change advocated by state consultants -- moving the ''cutoff'' wall up to the crown of the dike, where it would protect more of a structure that has been weakened from internal erosion. The Corps already is discussing lowering lake levels to reduce water pressure and damaging seepage.

The plan also calls for what Duba called the ''primary line of defense'' -- a new reinforcing berm on the landside toe of the dike. That would require buying up an undetermined but potentially large amount of private land around much of the lake.

George Horne, a district deputy director who took part in the review, said state water managers were happy with the changes and committed to acquire land as quickly as possible.

Duba defended the Corps' original repair scheme, saying the new blueprint did not reflect deficiencies but rather tougher Corps guidelines adopted in the wake of Katrina.

But a 65-page technical report the Corps also released raised numerous questions about inadequate risk assessments and contractor oversight to the unaddressed impact of wind-blown water overtopping the dike.

''The design restraints seem more concerned with minimizing small inconvenience to the local residents than overall safety,'' commented one reviewer, George Sills, a Corps levee and dam expert.

Duba said the plan would not meet Gov. Bush's call to rebuild the earthen levee to the higher standards of a dam, designed to withstand a severe, 1-in-10,000-year flood or hurricane -- a change he said would require congressional approval.

With a low lake level, the Corps considers the dike safe for now, but heavy rains or a hurricane could change that, Duba said.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat the condition of the dike," he said. "I can just tell you we're doing the best we can."