Missouri River management plan in need of adjustment

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Missouri River management plan in need of adjustment

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri says he supports the federal judge’s ruling that the government must pay landowners along the Missouri River for flood damage.

But he tells Brownfield more action is needed.

“Step one in response to this court case, the federal government should compensate the loss that the flood victims had,” he said. “Step two is we need to change the way we manage the southern basin of the river, so we don’t have floods year after year.”

The ruling says the Army Corps of Engineers caused increased flooding damage by altering habitat on the river to be in line with the Endangered Species Act.

“This has just been a real failure, not on the part of the corps in my view, but on the part of the plan that the corps has been given,” Blunt said.

He said the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan doesn’t take into account the needs of the southern basin of the river which includes Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas.

Blunt said senators from those states joined together earlier this year to back legislation that focuses on flood control, navigation, the depth of the channel and the river’s flow.

Senator Blunt Interview

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