Governors from Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri met with the Army Corps of Engineers. Representatives from Kansas also attended the meeting to discuss issues on the Missouri River.
Governors from Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri continued claiming a larger role in managing the Missouri River.
They met with the Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday in Omaha to discuss issues on the river. Representatives from Kansas also attended the meeting.
The event was one of a running series between the four states and the Corps of Engineers, which Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said will continue indefinitely.
The group kicked off the partnership in 2019 after that year’s floods caused billions of dollars in damages to the region.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said there was a lot of frustration in those early meetings, but now she's seeing progress.
“The conversation that we had today was much different than the conversation we had in 2019,” she said.
“Instead of waiting for that disaster to hit, we needed to get better at maintenance and get in front of it. So we can be better prepared and more resilient when that next flood happens.”
For example, Reynolds said state officials worked with the Corps and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to raise a levee above emergency guidelines. That could do a better job of protecting the southwest Iowa town of Hamburg, which was submerged by the 2019 floods.
Source: kcur.org
Photo Credit: river-field-istock-dorin-s
Categories: Missouri, General