Blaine Luetkemeyer: “From extreme flooding to extreme drought, the Missouri River basin has been hit very hard over the past few years. The…”

“From extreme flooding to extreme drought, the Missouri River basin has been hit very hard over the past few years. The families who live and work along the Missouri River have endured great hardships, and these events serve to highlight the importance of maintaining effective flood control infrastructure. Though it is one of our region's greatest resources, the Missouri River would produce extreme, erosive, regular flooding and be mostly unfit for navigation if not for aggressive long-term management by the Army Corps of Engineers. Congress first authorized the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, BSNP, in 1912, with the intention of mitigating flood risk and maintaining a navigable channel from Sioux City, Iowa, to the mouth of the river in St. Louis. Though the BSNP's construction was completed in the 1980s, the Corps' ability to make adjustments as needed remain crucial to this day. President Obama, in his fiscal year 2015 budget, requested $47 million for the Missouri River Recovery Program, which would primarily go towards the funding of environmental restoration studies and projects. This funding dwarfs the insufficient $9 million that was requested for the entire operations and maintenance of the aforementioned BSNP. It is preposterous to think that environmental projects are more important than the protection of human life. I do not take for granted the importance of river ecosystems.…”