levees

Corps Sued Over Access To Information About Metro East Levee Repair Project

Véronique LaCapra — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:38:40 +0000

A Metro East environmental advocacy group is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over access to information about the Southwestern Illinois levees and plans to repair them.

In the suit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the American Bottom Conservancy (ABC) said the Corps had repeatedly failed to respond to federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The suit is seeking an injunction from the court to compel the Corps to comply with the Act.

Plummer points to levee uncertainty as cause of unemployment

Chris McDaniel — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:49:30 +0000

Illinois Congressional candidate Jason Plummer points to the uncertainty of the Metro East levee situation as a large cause of the area’s high unemployment rate.

The Republican candidate says federal regulators are getting in the way of bipartisan work by local officials. The Federal Emergency Management Agency alleges the area should be deemed a “hazard zone.” If that happens, the value of houses would reportedly plummet. Plummer said the number one complaint he hears is the lack of certainty.

Corps gives green light for Metro East levee upgrades

Véronique LaCapra — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:27:05 +0000

The US Army Corps of Engineers has given the green light to start levee upgrades in the Metro East.

The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council will start the first phase of levee construction next month.

The project supervisor for the council, Les Sterman, says the goal is to get the levees to a 100-year flood protection level by the end of 2014.

That would meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s accreditation standard.

Council warns Corps over delays in Metro East levee project

Joseph Leahy — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:47:05 +0000

The Southwestern Flood Prevention District Council says too much is at stake for any more delays in fixing levees in Metro East.

Les Sterman, the project's supervisor for the Council says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has so far taken too long in approving plans to work on the levees.

He said their latest plan approval was six months late.

“Essentially we're doing our part," Sterman said. "All we're asking is for the federal agency to do its part in helping us get this project moving.”

Levee repairs, flood recovery to be discussed in Columbia this weekend

Marshall Griffin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:38:46 +0000

State and federal leaders are gathering in Columbia Saturday to talk about ways to prevent last year’s devastating floods that plagued northwest and southeastern Missouri.

Heavy snow and rainfall led to record releases from South Dakota dams along the Missouri River –and as a result 200,000 acres of farmland in northwest Missouri sat flooded for months, along with a significant stretch of Interstate 29 in Missouri and Iowa. Around 130,000 acres were flooded in the southeast part of the state when the Army Corps of Engineers blew a hole in the Birds Point Levee along the Mississippi River in order to protect the town of Cairo, Illinois.