FIRST REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 6

91^ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1162L.02I

Whereas, the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers plan to continue the practice of increasing the flow of the Missouri River in the spring and reducing the flow of the Missouri River in the summer and fall of each year; and

Whereas, such practice results in an increase in river levels in the spring which creates a greater risk of flooding along the Missouri River and causes a decrease in river levels in late summer and fall resulting in a reduction in barge traffic on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers; and

Whereas, these regulatory practices of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers have a severe impact on any industry which uses the Missouri River to transport products and cause flooding in river communities and on farm land in the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins; and

Whereas, the governors of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana have supported the practices of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers because these regulatory practices benefit those states by allowing them to hold water in their federal reservoirs on the Missouri River during the summer; and

Whereas, the regulatory practices of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers does not adequately address the concerns and needs of states in the lower Missouri and Mississippi River basins; and

Whereas, the Missouri departments of natural resources and transportation have opposed the regulations of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers and have taken actions to reduce the negative impacts of these regulatory practices on the state's river communities, lands and businesses:

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-first General Assembly, First Regular Session, with the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the Governor to protest against the regulatory practice of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Army Corps of Engineers to control the flow of the Missouri River in such a manner which negatively impacts the state of Missouri; and

Be it further resolved that the members of the General Assembly urge the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Conservation and the Department of Transportation to continue their efforts to lessen the negative impacts of these regulatory practices on the state's river communities, lands and businesses; and

Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Governor, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources, the Director of the Department of Conservation and the Director of the Department of Transportation.

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