Roy Cooper: “Once again, I thank the great chair of the Appropriations Committee for including three words that Nashville, Tennessee…”

“Once again, I thank the great chair of the Appropriations Committee for including three words that Nashville, Tennessee, desperately needs in the pending legislation in order to better manage our Cumberland River. These three words are ``flood risk management.'' A decade ago, Nashville suffered a devastating flood, costing more than two dozen lives and billions of dollars in damages. To mitigate the chance of future flooding, we need to allow the two Army Corps of Engineers-operated dams that are directly upstream from Nashville, namely Old Hickory and Cordell Hull, to be used for flood risk management. Contrary to common sense, these dams today may not be used for flood control, even in emergencies, unless they have previously been congressionally authorized to do so. The congressional authorization for Old Hickory and Cordell Hull Dams was made way back in 1946, and believe it or not, it still governs, regardless of the massive growth of Nashville and numerous subsequent floods. The archaic authority that the Corps has been operating under only allows Old Hickory and Cordell Hull to be used for navigation, recreation, and hydropower, but not for flood risk management. The Corps needs this flexibility to protect everyone downstream, as well as to prevent possible overtopping of their dams. I have buy-in from my District Corps to make this happen, and I hope the National Corps of Army Engineers listens. Mr.…”