Thomas Daschle: “Since 1993 the James River has flooded nearly 3 million acres of valuable farmland in my State resulting in billions of…”

“Since 1993 the James River has flooded nearly 3 million acres of valuable farmland in my State resulting in billions of dollars of lost revenue for South Dakota producers and greatly diminishing the value of their land by washing away valuable top soil. Clearly, the extreme wet conditions of the last 4 years have contributed to these floods. However, Mother Nature does not bear sole responsibility for the flooding. The problem has been affected by the James River management policy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For producers to be asked to continue to bear these losses is unfair and unacceptable. Downstream landowners in South Dakota should not be required to accept financial losses directly influenced by the corps' river management policy. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that will provide landowners along the James River with a measure of security against future high water flows and help ensure that the Federal Government assumes greater responsibility for the damaging effects of its river management policies.”