Thomas Daschle: “up and down the Missouri River in South Dakota, silt is building up on the river bottom as a result of the operation of…”

“up and down the Missouri River in South Dakota, silt is building up on the river bottom as a result of the operation of federal dams on the river. Water levels are rising as a result, flooding hundreds of homes in the cities of Pierre and Ft. Pierre and causing considerable anguish for these families. Two years ago, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the Corps to conduct a $35 million buyout of affected property to provide much-needed relief to these homeowners. Today, that project is at a standstill. We could start buying homes tomorrow, but the Corps of Engineers is contending that the price of moving forward is releasing more water through the Oahe dam, thereby generating electricity and revenue that will provide an economic justification for the project. City officials in Pierre and Fort Pierre have rejected this idea because raising water levels will cause new flooding in their towns. This problem has been caused because the relocation legislation requires that this project be economically justified.”