Blaine Luetkemeyer: “Just last week, folks along the Missouri River were bracing for the river to possibly reach flood stage. Should the…”

“Just last week, folks along the Missouri River were bracing for the river to possibly reach flood stage. Should the basin have received a few more inches of runoff, homes, farms, and businesses would have been inundated with devastating flood waters. While it appears the danger has subsided for now, these citizens are not in the clear and will have to remain prepared for the rest of the flood season. These recent 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 the 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 in St. Louis. Though the BSNP's construction was completed in the 1980s, the corps' ability to make adjustments as needed remains crucial to this day. President Obama, in his fiscal year 2015 budget, requested $56 million for the Missouri River Recovery Program, which primarily goes towards the funding of environmental restoration studies and projects. This funding dwarfs the insufficient $8.5 million that was requested for the entire operations and maintenance of the aforementioned BSNP.…”