As promised, Senator Claire McCaskill is taking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to task for letters sent to flood victims offering to buy their property.
The Corps defends those letters, saying they’ve been sending them since 1986, but McCaskill says now is not the time. During her visit to St Joseph over the Fourth of July weekend, we asked McCaskill what she thought about it.
[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/LETTR-longform.mp3|titles=LETTR longform]On Tuesday, McCaskill sent a letter of her own to Brigadier General John McMahon, Commander and Division Engineer of the Northwestern Division of the Army Corps of Engineers.
In the letter, McCaskill calls for the Corps to stop issuing letters to landowners during this extraordinary event.
McCaskill further stressed that this is a trying time for many communities and residents along the river’s reach, and it’s improper for the Corps to issue such letters when those affected continue to work around the clock trying to prevent the loss of their livelihoods.
The Corps is trying to acquire land along the river for the purpose of fish and wildlife habitat restoration
Here’s the full-text of the letter.
Dear General McMahon,
Thank you again for visiting me recently to discuss the flooding along the Missouri River and the flood-fighting measures being taken by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). I appreciate your time and look forward to meeting again in the near future to continue this discussion.
I write today to bring your attention to what I, and many of my constituents, find to be a poorly-timed, ill-considered Corps decision to issue letters to landowners along the Missouri River gauging their interest in selling all or part of their land to the United States for the purposes of fish and wildlife habitat restoration. For reference, I have attached such a letter, dated June 6.
In light of the potentially devastating floods along the river, I respectfully request that your division cease issuance of these letters until the flooding has subsided.
I am aware that the federal government, through the Corps, is authorized to acquire land along the river to restore habitat losses that have resulted from the construction, operation and maintenance activities associated with the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project. However, I share my constituents’ conviction that all efforts and attention, on the part of the Corps, landowners, and others associated with the Missouri River, be directed toward flood control and mitigation.
During this trying time, where communities and residents along the entire river’s reach are experiencing or trying to prevent the loss of their livelihoods, it is improper for the Corps to be issuing such solicitations. I know that you share my sincere hope that everyone associated with this great river can successfully work together to address this flood and prevent future flood events.
In service of this goal, I reiterate my request that the Corps discontinue sending these solicitations. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Claire McCaskill
United States Senator