Attorney General's News Release

March 1, 2002

Nixon files formal opposition to Missouri River water control plans

Jefferson City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon today announced that he has filed Missouri's formal opposition to plans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to alter the water flows of the Missouri River in a manner Nixon says will increase flood potential and harm navigation on the river. In a letter and 25-page legal brief filed with the Corps, Nixon said the Corps' plans are not natural to the Missouri River, and the premise that the changes will protect endangered species is not backed by science.

“It is apparent to me that these proposed changes are motivated by the desire of the upstream states to control the waters of the Missouri River rather than a sincere interest in protecting endangered species,” Nixon said.

Nixon's office has presented testimony in opposition to the Corps' plans in hearings at St. Joseph, Kansas City, Jefferson City, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans.

Nixon also challenged the Corps legal authority to implement the proposed water control alternatives.

“The Flood Control Act of 1944 mandated that river management efforts support flood control and navigation,” Nixon wrote in his letter. “These plans would greatly reduce the ability to achieve the Congressionally-established purposes of river management.”

Furthermore, Nixon said the plans will provide insignificant benefits to the pallid sturgeon, an endangered fish, and the tern and the plover, two endangered birds.

“There are equally successful ways to protect endangered species that don't sacrifice flood control and navigation in Missouri,” Nixon said, pointing to the success of mitigation efforts on the Mississippi River that can change habitat variables without adjusting upstream releases. “This is about recreation and political interests of the upstream states, not about the environment.”

Nixon's brief is available on the Missouri Attorney General's Web site at www.ago.mo.gov.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

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