River Wire Blog

The Army Corps of Engineers has been directed by Congress to review the original project purposes established by the 1944 Flood Control Act. MRAPS is the first-ever review of the legislation that created the system of dams and reservoirs on the Missouri River and major tributaries. The study will determine if changes in these purposes and the existing federal water resource infrastructure managed by the Corps and Bureau of Reclamation may be warranted.

Dates/Locations of Upcoming Public Meetings

The public scoping meetings schedule appears at the following link Scoping Meeting Schedule. The public scoping comment period will run through September 20, 2010. During the scoping phase, you are invited to provide formal comments, suggestions, and recommendations to the Corps regarding the study. Written scoping comments may be sent to the Omaha District mailing address as listed in the contact information section below. Deadline for receiving scoping comments is September 20, 2010. The scoping process will include 30 open-house style meetings for the public and 11 Tribal focused meetings. All public scoping meetings will run from 5 to 8 p.m. Participants may attend at their convenience. Public meetings will include:

• Information materials about the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study.
• One-on-one opportunities to ask questions, discuss the study and describe what is important to you with Corps representatives.
• Comment cards for participants to submit during the meeting or any time during the comment period. A court reporter will be at the meetings for those who wish to make formal verbal comments.

MRAPS Situation Assessment Report

In April, the Osprey Group submitted its MRAPS Situation Assessment report to the Corps and the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. A copy of the report is available through this link: April 2010 MRAPS Situation Assessment
Comments about the Assessment are appreciated and may be emailed to Gail Brooks -- brooks@ecr.gov, -- at the U.S. Institute until May 7, 2010. By May 21, the Institute will consolidate all comments about the report, its findings and recommendations and include them as an addendum to the report.

The Army Corps of Engineers recently held two meetings addressing findings and recommendations from the focus groups and Tribal Events

• The first meeting was held in St. Joseph, Missouri on March 8, 2010.
• The second meeting was held in Bismarck, North Dakota on March 10, 2010.

The Corps slides used in these presentations are provided here.

The Osprey Group slides used in these meetings can be viewed at March 2010 MRAPS Assessment Presentation.

For more details contact:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District
Attn: Mark Harberg
Phone: 402-995-2554
E-mail: mark.harberg@usace.army.mil

or

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Attn: Kyla Benjamin
E-mail: kyla.s.benjamin@usace.army.mil