Army Corps' new plan doesn't alter Missouri River flow

ST. LOUIS -- Under court order to lower Missouri River water levels this summer for endangered species, the Army Corps of Engineers proposes a new river-management plan it says will protect wildlife without altering the Missouri's flow.

The long-term plan drafted by the corps relies on restoring wildlife habitat by means other than dramatic fluctuations in the river's depth, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.

The proposals include widening the river wherever possible, developing an additional 2,000 acres of shallow water by 2005, reconnecting the Missouri with its flood plain and cutting holes in some of the 3,500 dikes from Nebraska to St. Louis in order to improve areas for fish.

But to Chad Smith of the advocacy group American Rivers, the plan "leaves out the most important thing as far as restoring the health of the river," given the pressure from biologists and the federal court to alter the river's flows.

While pleased by the absence of wildlife-related flow changes, Missouri officials worry that other parts of the plan would hold water upstream during persistent drought and perhaps cut a month from the barge season.

The corps included the plan in a "biological assessment" of the river, forwarded July 30 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That agency has until August's end to pass judgment on the plan, which would become the basis for the long-disputed master manual for Missouri River operations.

The corps says the new approach "will achieve the biological attributes" sought by the service, which has been at odds with the corps for more than a decade on Missouri River issues.

The next step would be a revised biological opinion by the service, paving the way for a new river-operations manual that corps officials say they want to finish by the end of the year.

Won't satisfy everyone

Corps spokesman Homer Perkins said there would be time for public comment on the proposal, cautioning that "not everybody is going to be happy with all of it, and everybody is going to be unhappy with some of it."

Conservation groups want the Missouri to ebb and flow more naturally to encourage spawning and nesting to help sturgeon and shorebird species on the government's threatened and endangered lists.

Barge and farming interests say the corps has an obligation to provide enough water for barges.

James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the corps' new proposal is "highly consequential and should be given a chance."

The corps has been ordered by a federal judge to begin lowering Missouri River water levels on Tuesday. On Friday, the corps said it might begin dropping the levels sooner than Tuesday.

The announcement came after an order from the Minnesota federal judge who recently took over the case. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson said Thursday he expects the corps to "expediently and fully comply with its obligations under the law of the case."

The corps had refused to follow another judge's order to reduce depths in the river, saying it was under conflicting orders from a Nebraska judge to provide enough water for shipping. But Magnuson ruled last week there was no conflict and said the order to drastically cut releases remains in effect. He has scheduled a status conference for Sept. 8.

The corps then announced it would lower water for three days next week. On Thursday, Magnuson ruled he expected swift compliance, though he did not actually order the corps to move faster.

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On the Net:

Army Corps of Engineers Missouri River Region: http://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/

American Rivers: http://www.americanrivers.org

U.S. court system: http://www.uscourts.gov/