Steve Buyer: “I would like to extend special compliments to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.…”

“I would like to extend special compliments to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Yates) not only for this bill, but I appreciate their willingness to work this out. Right now in northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois, there are two existing projects with regard to the Kankakee River Basin. One is a Corps of Engineers study, and the second is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife project referred to as the Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The location and size with regard to this, the Kankakee Watershed drains a total of 5,167 square miles. That is 2,990 square miles in Indiana, 2,177 square miles in Illinois, and 7 square miles in Michigan. The watershed extends to the high waters of the Kankakee River near the City of Southbend, Indiana, to its confluence with the Des Plaines River near Kankakee and the Des Plaines River southwest of Joliet, Illinois. The Kankakee River Basin area of northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois has been suffering from extreme flooding and siltation for many years. The river back at the turn of the century would meander and then there would be low-level lakes and then it would meander again. Indiana dredged and straightened the river in Indiana, which has caused the siltation to build up in Illinois, and the river to flood. This brought on years of lawsuits between Illinois and Indiana.”