COMMISSION TO CONDUCT ANNUAL RIVER INSPECTION

The Mississippi River Commission will convene in Cape Girardeau Monday aboard the motor vessel "Mississippi" for the start of the board's annual "high-water" inspection tour.

The commission inspects the lower Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau south to New Orleans and holds public hearings twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. The spring inspection is known as the "high-water" tour because the river level typically is high at that time. In the fall, the river is usually at a low level.

The seven-member commission works with the Army Corps of Engineers in regards to flood control and navigation. Its members include R.D. James of New Madrid. James is the only Missourian on the commission.

The motor vessel "Mississippi" is the Corps of Engineers' flagship vessel in the Mississippi Valley. The boat docked Friday in Cape Girardeau.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, is scheduled to testify before the commission at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Emerson said flood control projects are important to the region.

"We have heard a lot about the booming American economy, the dot-com successes, and the roaring stock market, yet those good times have not found their way to the Delta," Emerson said.

"The Delta continues to face chronic poverty and financial distress in many communities," the Republican congresswoman said. "We need to provide adequate resources for maintenance and construction on our levees and drainage systems to bring new jobs to the Delta."

Last year, Congress funded the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project to the tune of $309 million. President Clinton's budget request for fiscal 2001 maintained fiscal 2000 funding levels. But members of Congress, including Emerson, are seeking $370 million for the flood control and navigation efforts.

At Monday's commission meeting, the commission president and the district commander of the Corps of Engineers are scheduled to report on Mississippi River issues and projects.

The commission meeting is open to the public.

Following the meeting, the vessel will continue down river for meetings in Memphis, Tenn., and Greenville, Miss., before concluding on Friday with a meeting in New Orleans.

Organized in 1879, the Mississippi River Commission is composed of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Three of the members are officers in the Corps of Engineers, one is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and three are civilians. Two of the civilians are civil engineers.