Meeting set in Bismarck on Missouri River basin authorized purposes study

OMAHA – The second in a series of focus group and tribal meetings in support of the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study is being sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers. It will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 8, in Bismarck, N.D., at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library, 515 North Fifth Street, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

An independent facilitator will conduct the meetings. Invited participants will be asked a series of questions designed to share perspectives about the purposes identified in the 1944 Flood Control Act, discuss how to optimize values and priorities in the basin and develop and critique ideas about how to best structure public involvement throughout the duration of the study.

After the question session is completed, other members of the public attending the meeting will be invited to make comments on both the issues and the public engagement process.

The first meeting in Kansas City, Kan., on Nov. 19 was attended by 11 invited participants representing interests such as utilities, agriculture, navigation, development, Tribes, state and local government and fish and wildlife. There were also 16 members of the public representing groups or themselves.

These focus groups meetings are not the formal scoping meetings that will define the size and shape of the study. Those are planned for the summer of 2010. Advance notice of the dates and sites will be announced later in the spring.

The Army Corps of Engineers has been directed by Congress to conduct a review of the original purposes established by the 1944 Flood Control Act. The goal of the multi-year study is to determine if changes in the eight purposes are warranted. They are flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality and fish and wildlife. Infrastructure operated both the Corps and Bureau of Reclamation is included in the study.


Initial Tribal Meeting and Focus Group Meeting Schedule

Nov 19 Kansas City, Kansas
Dec 8 Bismarck, North Dakota
Dec 16 Initial Tribal Meeting, Rapid City, South Dakota
Jan 12 St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 14 Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 26 Pierre, South Dakota
Jan 28 Billings, Montana
Feb 4 Columbia, Missouri
Feb 9 New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 11 Memphis, Tennessee

Additional information on the authorized purposes study is available at www.mraps.org.