Thomas Daschle: “last week, Senator Baucus introduced the Missouri River Water Control Equity Act. I have cosponsored that bill because…”

“last week, Senator Baucus introduced the Missouri River Water Control Equity Act. I have cosponsored that bill because all the analysis of the current master manual guidelines for managing the dams along the Missouri River that I have seen confirms that change in the corp's management of the river is long overdue. The assumptions about economic uses that drive the management of the river have not been seriously reexamined or revised in 50 years. In those 50 years, times and conditions have changed dramatically. But the management of the river has not kept pace. In 1992, the General Accounting Office noted that the master manual for operating the dams is outdated. GAO concluded that the corps has been managing the river based on "assumptions about the amount of water needed for navigation and irrigation made in 1944 that are no longer valid." According to GAO, "the plan does not reflect the current economic conditions in the Missouri River Basin." The Corps of Engineers, caught between the competing self-interest of the upstream and downstream States, has recommended only modest revisions in the master manual. In May 1994, the corps selected a "preferred alternative," which calls for shortening the navigation season by 1 month and a higher spring flow rate. Given the conditions that now exist along the Missouri River, these changes are clearly insufficient to equitably distribute the economic benefits of the river.”