Flooding

The federal agency had threatened taking away the system's accreditation in 2007 after the Army Corps of Engineers determined the levees might be compromised. Work over the past 15 years prevented that from happening.

Residents of the former city of Centreville (now Cahokia Heights) have for years dealt with flooding and sewage overflows. Residents feel ignored — and financially trapped — after decades of inaction by officials.

Some farmers and environmentalists say the federal program, which is heavily subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, discourages growers from adapting to climate change and should be redesigned.

In Missouri, winters are about 4 degrees hotter on average than in 1970 — and farmers are starting to feel the effects.

Creating wetlands in farm country can reduce the severity of flooding downstream. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative and Ducks Unlimited have partnered to create more wetlands in the Mississippi River basin.

The EPA is investigating a complaint against the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, which represents the governors of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The order mandates the city to submit plans to control sanitary sewer overflows, which can cause water to back up in residents’ homes and yards.

Missouri has experienced some of the warmest and wettest years on record in recent decades, said Pat Guinan, state climatologist and associate professor of climatology at the University of Missouri Extension.

“I’ve heard that 20-something years, so seeing is believing,” one resident said.

Farmers along the Missouri River won a mass action federal lawsuit last December against the Army Corps of Engineers for land damages they say are...