AGREEMENT REACHED ON LEVEE STANDOFF

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Plans are rolling again to keep the rolling tides of the Mississippi River from reaching this historic town.

After a two-year dispute with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Ste. Genevieve Levee District 2 agreed Monday to lower its rock levee by at least 2 feet, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The plan was proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers, which was called in by Missouri's senators to mediate the argument.

Representatives of the levee district, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Corps are expected to meet in St. Louis today to confirm the agreement.

Lowering the levee by 2 to 5 feet will ensure that a $48 million levee project will proceed. Earlier this year, FEMA had warned that if the levee wasn't lowered, the project wouldn't be completed.

FEMA officials said the extra height of the levee near Ste. Genevieve would have caused higher flood levels along other parts of the Mississippi River.

The 3.5 miles of new levee to be built in front of the city of Ste. Genevieve will protect the town from up to 52 feet of water, which is about 2 1/2 feet higher than the record crest in 1993.

Construction of the levee is slated to begin in the spring and should be completed by 1999.