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SD governor: Study could change river management

By CHET BROKAW, Associated Press Writer

Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009 3:39 AM CDT

FORT PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A five-year federal study of how the Missouri River is managed should change the priorities to better reflect the recreation and tourism needs of people who live along it, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds said Friday.

After states fought over water during an extended drought, Congress ordered a review of the 1944 law that authorized construction of the six dams and spelled out the purposes of the huge reservoirs that were created in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

No one in 1944 anticipated how much fishing and other recreation would develop on the reservoir, Rounds said in a speech to the Missouri River Association of States and Tribes.

"So recreation and tourism should have a greater influence in how the Missouri River is managed, compared to the management that was planned back in 1944," Rounds told the association.

The 1944 Flood Control Act had set the reservoirs' purposes as flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality and fish and wildlife. Any change in their authorized purposes could be made only by Congress.

Rounds urged the members of the Missouri River Association of States and Tribes to cooperate to provide information and recommendations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will conduct the study.

The governor noted that the reservoirs have done much to prevent or reduce flooding in both upstream and downstream states, have generated electricity and have provided good drinking water for a vast area.

However, little irrigation has been built to compensate for the huge areas that were flooded -- 500,000 acres in South Dakota alone, the governor said. Downstream barge traffic never amounted to much because irrigation did not provide the extra grain to be transported, he said.

During the extended drought nearly a decade ago, upstream states wanted more water kept in the reservoirs to support fishing and boating. Downstream states, particularly Missouri, argued that water should be released to support barge traffic from Sioux City, Iowa, to St. Louis, where the Missouri meets the Mississippi.

Rounds said discussions in recent years have indicated that Missouri is less interested in having water for the few barges in the Missouri River, but instead wants to make sure enough water flows into the Mississippi to support barges downstream of St. Louis.

All those interests must be examined to provide the best system for managing the river, he said.

"The better plan we put together now will make it easier for future generations to enjoy and be able to count on the wonderful resources that are here," Rounds said.

Association members said the review is long overdue because activities along the river have changed substantially.

"It's an opportunity to take a comprehensive look at where we've been for the last 65 years and have the management of the river reflect future needs and circumstances, said Mary Sexton, association chair and secretary of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

Earlier in the meeting, Col. Robert J. Ruch, commander of the Corps of Engineers Omaha District, said he believes the Missouri River study is the first time the corps has re-examined the authorized purposes of a project.


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