There are new signs that people who want changes to a proposed levee-raising plan along the Mississippi River are being heard.
As it stands, the proposal calls for heightening all but about 20 of the 140 levees along the upper part of the river to 500-year flood levels last seen in 1993.
But on Dec. 3, Army Corps of Engineers representatives from St. Louis and Rock Island plan an engineering meeting in Quincy, Ill., to discuss revisions.
Mike Klingner is a Quincy engineer and member of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association, which backs the idea of higher levees in what is known as Plan H.
“We’re definitely interested in fine-tuning it so that everybody has as good or better protection,” Klingner said.
On Tuesday, petitions with 7,000 signatures supporting Plan H were presented to U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“Flood risk management issues are very important to...the entire upper Mississippi River basin,” Oberstar said in a statement thanking supporters of the plan.
Many of the levees that would not be heightened are in Pike, Lincoln and St. Charles counties, all three of which are growig rapidly.
County commissioners and civic leaders believe that without changes, the proposal will leave them vulnerable to frequent inundations.
“We want to at least put a hold on it and let our voices be heard,” said Pike County Presiding Commissioner Dan Miller.
“We want to look out for all of the residences and businesses and farms and everything else by raising all the levees,” said Lincoln County Presiding Commissioner Sean O’Brien.
The levee-raising plan was endorsed by the Mississippi River Commission, a powerful group appointed by Congress in the 19th century to recommend improvements on the waterway.
For areas with no improvements, the plan recommends easements so that canals and other water-control measures could be installed, with the federal government footing most of the bill.
Levees left off the improvement list were chosen because studies showed water levels in a major flood would not rise more than one foot. Other factors included cost-benefit considerations, river width restrictions and geography.
The Corps developed flood-control recommendations using data from the late 1990s, but has not endorsed a proposal.
The concern is that heightening levees upstream will lead to greater flooding in agricultural, industrial and residential areas where no improvements would be made.
Estimated cost of Plan H is $6 billion, and supporters hope to get some or all of the funding included in a $500 billion, six-year transportation bill that lawmakers will soon consider.
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There are new signs that people who want changes to a proposed levee-raising plan along the Mississippi River are being heard.
As it stands, the proposal calls for heightening all but about 20 of the 140 levees along the upper part of the river to 500-year flood levels last seen in 1993.
But on Dec. 3, Army Corps of Engineers representatives from St. Louis and Rock Island plan an engineering meeting in Quincy, Ill., to discuss revisions.
Mike Klingner is a Quincy engineer and member of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association, which backs the idea of higher levees in what is known as Plan H.
“We’re definitely interested in fine-tuning it so that everybody has as good or better protection,” Klingner said.
On Tuesday, petitions with 7,000 signatures supporting Plan H were presented to U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“Flood risk management issues are very important to...the entire upper Mississippi River basin,” Oberstar said in a statement thanking supporters of the plan.
Many of the levees that would not be heightened are in Pike, Lincoln and St. Charles counties, all three of which are growig rapidly.
County commissioners and civic leaders believe that without changes, the proposal will leave them vulnerable to frequent inundations.
“We want to at least put a hold on it and let our voices be heard,” said Pike County Presiding Commissioner Dan Miller.
“We want to look out for all of the residences and businesses and farms and everything else by raising all the levees,” said Lincoln County Presiding Commissioner Sean O’Brien.
The levee-raising plan was endorsed by the Mississippi River Commission, a powerful group appointed by Congress in the 19th century to recommend improvements on the waterway.
For areas with no improvements, the plan recommends easements so that canals and other water-control measures could be installed, with the federal government footing most of the bill.
Levees left off the improvement list were chosen because studies showed water levels in a major flood would not rise more than one foot. Other factors included cost-benefit considerations, river width restrictions and geography.
The Corps developed flood-control recommendations using data from the late 1990s, but has not endorsed a proposal.
The concern is that heightening levees upstream will lead to greater flooding in agricultural, industrial and residential areas where no improvements would be made.
Estimated cost of Plan H is $6 billion, and supporters hope to get some or all of the funding included in a $500 billion, six-year transportation bill that lawmakers will soon consider.
