Changes urged to Corps' local flood response plan

NEW MADRID, Mo. — There was a flood of ideas on how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should spend its funding and the projects in need of completion as speakers addressed the Mississippi River Commission.

At Monday’s public hearing at New Madrid, members of the MRC and the Corps also took the opportunity to note the recent federal appointment of longtime MRC member and New Madrid resident R.D. James. Earlier this year President Donald Trump selected James as the assistant secretary of the army for civil works.

Sam Angel, who has served with James on the MRC for 36 years, said while he will miss his friend, James will do well in his new post.

“I think with R.D.’s great knowledge of this lower valley, it can’t be anything but a great asset for us down here where the river drains 41 percent of the United States,” he added.

“It is a loss for the commission but I would tell you it is a great bonus for us. He understands what we do and what we need to do,” said Major General Richard Kaiser, president of the MRC, about James. “He will be a true voice of reason at headquarters.”

In his opening remarks, Kaiser pointed out the recent high waters along the Mississippi marked one of the top 10 flood events in the Corps’ history.

“Although many areas were impacted more than others in the big scheme of things, (the river system) operated exactly as it was designed making it a non-event in many cases,” Kaiser said. Adding there is still the possibility for more high water, he promised the Corps would remain vigilant.

However, it was an earlier flood that Glen Ault Jr. with Consolidated Drainage District 1 wanted to draw the attention of commission and Corps to. Ault presented the MRC with several photos and maps dealing with the operational plan which was used in the 2011 flood.

In 2011, the Corps activated a plan designed to reduce flooding by imploding parts of the levee in Mississippi County. The crevasses allowed water to flow out over land in Mississippi and New Madrid counties.

According to Ault, many of the Corps’ figures in the plan were incorrect dealing with the flow of the water into and out of the crevasses and resulted in extensive damage.

“It served no purpose except to deposit sand on hundreds of acres. It destroyed parts of Big Oak Tree State Park, created additional velocity for the lower third of the floodway damaging several thousands of acres with severe erosion and damaged ditches and infrastructure,” Ault stated. As a result the government has spent millions of taxpayers’ money to repair the damage, he added.

After the failure of the plan to work properly, Ault said he expected it would be changed.

“We were wrong. There was a change in the crevasse but only in as who would make the decisions to activate,” he stated.

“We were told over and over that was the plan of operation and must be followed. It was obvious to us that the facts were not important. Integrity of the plan was important, damn the cost and the destruction.”

Ault told the commissioners part of the problem with the Corps’ plan is that it assumes the St. Johns-New Madrid Floodway project is completed. Even if the project was completed, he continued, it would not have remedied the problem.

Following the flood of 2011, Ault said landowners no longer support the completion of the St. Johns-New Madrid Floodway project. However, he said, they do support the placement of pumps at the New Madrid Bayou Basin.

In summing up his testimony, Ault called upon the commission to revaluate the plan and incorporate changes which reflect the conditions that exist today in the region.

Reading testimony from Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith was Kyle Aubuchon, a member of Smith’s staff.

Smith said Congress expects to consider another Water Resources Development Act Bill this year.

“Our inland waterways are essential to our transportation infrastructure and fundamental to our economy. This legislation will provide an opportunity to further the president’s infrastructure vision,” he said.

Also Congress will continue to look for ways to streamline environmental permitting and reduce Washington red tape.

“We have experienced more than our fair share of bureaucratic red tape here in New Madrid. The St. John’s Bayou and New Madrid Floodway project continues to sit incomplete because federal agencies cannot agree with each other. I continue to advocate on behalf of Southeast Missouri. It is time for this flood control project to be built and it is time for the federal government to adequately value the livelihood of the people whom I serve,” Smith wrote.

In addition, Smith called for continued funding for the dredging of ports in the region as well as for the Mississippi River and Tributaries project.

“Vital to the function of the MRT is the Bird’s Point-New Madrid Floodway. Everyone here knows that without the New Madrid Floodway, the whole MRT system is at risk,” Smith wrote. “As always, in the event of a major flooding event, I urge the Army Corps to consider more natural options such as overtopping. However, should the activation become necessary, the floodway must be rebuilt swiftly and to project design.”

Others from Southeast Missouri who spoke before the commission were Paul Combs with the Little River and Elks Shoot drainage districts. Combs urged the Corps to reconstruct the south levee in the Elks Shoot Drainage District which is located along Missouri’s southern border with Arkansas.

Charles Davis, representing the St. Francis Levee District of Missouri, pointed out the levee wall at Caruthersville needs to be raised. During the 2011 flood, he said, the wall was nearly overtopped by the river and was plagued by seepage.