This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov 30, 2011 - WASHINGTON -- Criticized by Missouri lawmakers, farmers and local officials for the response to this year's Missouri River flooding, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander on Wednesday promised a more flexible and aggressive approach to managing the river to avoid a repeat of the devastating flood.
"The Corps plans to assume a more flexible posture as water is evacuated through the [Missouri River] system for the remainder of the fall and early winter," Brig. Gen. John R. McMahon told the House subcommittee on water resources and the environment. "The Corps will also take a more aggressive stance with winter and spring releases" of water from the six giant reservoirs that help control river flows.
McMahon, who commands the Corps' Northwestern Division, listened to statements from five of Missouri's U.S. House members, as well as testimony from representatives of the state's Levee and Drainage District Association, the Missouri Farmer's Union, and the Holt County Clerk. Nearly all of the lawmakers and witnesses urged the Corps to place flood prevention and protection above all other goals in managing the river.
One common theme was that, because so many levees and related flood-control structures were damaged in this year's flooding and have yet to be repaired, the Corps -- perhaps under the direction of Congress -- should at least temporarily divert resources away from fish and wildlife conservation and use the funds to repair levees.
"Endangered species and habitat creation have become the focus of the Corps," said Tom Waters, a farmer in Orrick, Mo., who chairs the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association. "Congress must refocus the Corps' priorities and redirect their efforts toward flood control and fixing levees."
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, whose district in northwest Missouri bore the brunt of the state's flooding, said thousands of acres there were "devastated." A recent study by the University of Missouri's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources found that the deluge inundated 207,000 acres of agricultural land, resulting in $176 million in lost revenue and hurting many local economies.
In Holt County, in the state's northwestern corner, County Clerk Kathy Kunkel told the panel that 32 levees were breached, with one break a half a mile wide. "Our green fields of summer took on the look of an endless lake, and the smell of an old tackle box," she said.
She accused the Corps of making a "land grab" by purchasing more than 8,000 acres of land in the county as part of a government program to remove farmland from oft-flooded areas. After this year's levee breaches, she complained, many farmers "see no hope but to sell their irrevocably ruined land to the Corps." She supported proposals in Congress to divert federal funds away from land purchases and use the money to repair levees.
The House hearing also heard similar testimony from lawmakers and witnesses from the Dakotas, Iowa and other states that were hit hard by the spring and summer flooding. In addition to Graves, the other members of the Missouri delegation who testified included Reps. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis; Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth; Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville; and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, questioned witnesses as a member of the subcommittee, and Rep. Todd Akin, R-Wildwood, submitted a statement.
Graves, who is sponsoring a bill to divert funds slated for wildlife programs to help with levee repair, agreed with Waters that "we are asking the Corps ... to juggle too many priorities. We must make clear once and for all that the prevention of flooding has to be the number-one priority."
Another House bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, aims to require the Corps to re-calculate the reservoir storage needs based on this year's flooding. In the past, the Corps had managed water levels based on an older formula that assumed less drainage runoff than what occurred this year.
Throughout the Missouri River basin, the overall damages caused by this year's flooding has been estimated at more than $2 billion in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. McMahon, reflecting his testimony to a Senate panel last month, said money was being diverted from other accounts to repair levees, but it is not nearly enough.
"At some point, we're going to need new funds for repair and restoration of the system." McMahon said.