Corps Of Engineers Taking Heat For River Management

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was the target of criticism at two meetings Friday as Mills County officials, business owners and farmers discussed the catastrophic flooding along the Missouri River in southwest Iowa.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, who toured flood damage in Mills and Fremont County with USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, spoke to  audiences in Glenwood and Malvern. Iowa’s senior senator questioned whether flood control is still a high priority for the Corps. He stressed the primary concern of the Corps and the federal government should be the protection of people, not animals - referencing a stronger emphasis by the Corps in recent years to protect fish and wildlife.

“We have to get the Corps back to doing what they used to do,” Grassley said. “We spent three years after the 2011 flood (addressing the issue) and it looks like we accomplished nothing.”

Mark Lincoln, whose new fueling center and convenience store sustained substantial flood damage as a result of the Missouri River flooding near the Highway 34 - Interstate 29 interchange, shared similar sentiments  at the Glenwood meeting.

“We appreciate all the support, but we need to work to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Lincoln said. “The Corps needs to understand that flood control is their top priority.”

As was the case after Missouri River flooding in 2011, the Corps is being questioned for its water release strategy at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota. Rains and the melting heavy snow in states upstream along the Missouri and its tributaries resulted in the Corps increasing water releases at Gavins Point Dam from below 20,000  cubic feet per second to nearly 100,000 within a seven-day timespan.

State Rep. David Sieck  of  Glenwood said the Corps “needs to be pushed” for answers. Sieck said the agency’s river management and dam release practices will be reviewed and investigated, but added that concerns have also been expressed about the lack of adequate warning farmers and property owners in the Missouri River valley were given to prepare for this year’s flooding.

Grassley heard comments and concerns about the need to improve the Missouri River levee system. Pacific Junction Mayor Andy Young said the levee breach has created a new trail for the river to follow into his community.

“Nobody is going to spend a dime (to rebuild) until the levee is fixed,” he said.

Sieck said there have been talks of a multi-state coalition being formed to address the levee system, made up of representatives from Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.

The meeting in Malvern was geared o ag producers and just like the Glenwood meeting, many of the comments were critical of the Corrps of Engineers and the federal government.

An audience member asked Grassley who the Corps of Engineeers’ boss is. Grassley said it’s the president and his cabinet, noting that Congress has limited authority over Corps operations and river management.

Grassley isn’t the only elected official to see the flooding in Mills and Fremont counties first-hand. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and Third District U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne have also  toured the damage and spoken with business and property owners impacted by the flooding.