Governors from states along the Missouri River will ask Congress for an independent review of this year’s flood event and the way it was handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback said an independent review would allow for tough questions to be asked and answered as well as ensure we are better prepared in the future.
Eight states were represented at a briefing Monday in Omaha by Brigadier General John McMahon about the Corps’ proposed Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for 2011-2012. They also discussed how vulnerable the system will be next spring because not all of the repairs wil be completed before spring runoff begins.
Gov. Brownback met with Governors Terry Branstad (Iowa); Dave Heineman (Nebraska); Jack Dalrymple (North Dakota); Dennis Daugaard (South Dakota) and senior staff from Matt Mead (Wyoming) today in Omaha to discuss Missouri River flood control and recovery. Governors Jay Nixon (Missouri) and Brian Schweitzer (Montana) joined the meeting by teleconference.
The governors also met with representatives from FEMA and the U.S. Department on Transportation about current flood recovery efforts.
The Corps will hold eight public meetings in the river basin region, including one in St Joe, for public input on the 2011-2012 AOP. They’ll gather October 25th at 7pm at the Holiday Inn Riverfront.
The governors plan to meet again in November, prior to the Corps’ finalization of its 2011-2012 AOP.
Governor Brownback also announced his support for Gov. Dalrymple’s call for the Corps to lower the water levels in Lake Sakakawea below current plans.
The Corps plans to maintain a level of 1,837 feet for the 2011-2012 season. Dalrymple wants to drop that by an additional 2.5 feet.
In a letter to the Corps, Dalrymple points out that the National Weather Service is forecasting a La Nina climate pattern for this winter – meaning another season of higher than normal snow amounts in Wyoming and the Dakotas. The Corps’ AOP doesn’t take this into consideration. Releasing another 2.5 feet from the lake would give the Corps an additional 750,000 acre feet of flood control storage space.
“This is a sensible, thoughtful and narrowed focus idea that makes a lot of sense,” Brownback said. “We need to seize the window of opportunity to take action now in hopes of preventing a major flood event next summer. While some may think that this isn’t a very significant amount of water, we must remember this is a situation where inches can make a tremendous difference in the lives of thousands.”