2008 Woodie Awards
Dam Release May Cause More Flooding Throughout Missouri
Cheryl Wittenauer: Associated Press
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: News
ST. LOUIS (AP)-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said late Tuesday it will begin a 48-hour release of water into the Missouri River from an upstream dam at midnight. Efforts earlier by state of Missouri to stop the release failed.
Attorney General Jay Nixon lost two attempts in federal court Tuesday to stop the annual March release. Nixon, who filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to stop the release, was joined by Gov. Matt Blunt and Sen. Kit Bond in citing concerns that the release could exacerbate flooding from torrential downpours last week.
But U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton said she found no evidence to show the corps was not following the law. She said the corps can change its decision to release water, or adjust flows, if warranted.
Late Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Nixon's appeal of Hamilton's decision.
"Within the time constraints available to us, we exhausted our legal options," Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, in his capacity as acting governor, late Tuesday urged President Bush to direct the corps to cancel the release.
"It would only create more hardships for those who are struggling with what Mother Nature has already brought," the letter said in part.
The corps usually releases extra water in March, and again in May, to prompt spawning of the pallid sturgeon, a fish that managed to survive over millennia but is now on the endangered species list.
That's in addition to even greater volumes of water the corps releases from the Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, S.D., throughout much of the year to support navigation, fisheries and drinking water supplies. Releases for those purposes were not at issue in Nixon's lawsuit.
The corps' Lawrence Cieslik, who oversees water management on the Missouri River, testified before Hamilton. He said that despite widespread flooding in Missouri over the past week, river levels are dropping, and the release will pose no risk to public safety. He said the corps continually monitors water levels, weather forecasts and other data to guide its decisions.
Attorney General Jay Nixon lost two attempts in federal court Tuesday to stop the annual March release. Nixon, who filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to stop the release, was joined by Gov. Matt Blunt and Sen. Kit Bond in citing concerns that the release could exacerbate flooding from torrential downpours last week.
But U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton said she found no evidence to show the corps was not following the law. She said the corps can change its decision to release water, or adjust flows, if warranted.
Late Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Nixon's appeal of Hamilton's decision.
"Within the time constraints available to us, we exhausted our legal options," Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, in his capacity as acting governor, late Tuesday urged President Bush to direct the corps to cancel the release.
"It would only create more hardships for those who are struggling with what Mother Nature has already brought," the letter said in part.
The corps usually releases extra water in March, and again in May, to prompt spawning of the pallid sturgeon, a fish that managed to survive over millennia but is now on the endangered species list.
That's in addition to even greater volumes of water the corps releases from the Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, S.D., throughout much of the year to support navigation, fisheries and drinking water supplies. Releases for those purposes were not at issue in Nixon's lawsuit.
The corps' Lawrence Cieslik, who oversees water management on the Missouri River, testified before Hamilton. He said that despite widespread flooding in Missouri over the past week, river levels are dropping, and the release will pose no risk to public safety. He said the corps continually monitors water levels, weather forecasts and other data to guide its decisions.
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