News Releases for September 2003
September 19, 2003
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Hoeven Provides Tour of Missouri River, Lakes Sakakawea, Oahe for Army Corps of Engineers Officials
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today provided an aerial tour of sections of the Missouri River, and Lakes Sakakawea and Oahe for Brigadier General William Grisoli, the new division commander for the Northwest Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, and Col. Kurt Ubbelohde, commander of the Corps' Omaha District.
"As the new manager of the Corps in our division, it is very important that General Grisoli see the impact of the Corps' failure to provide drought management in the upper basin," Hoeven said. "We have sustained millions of dollars in losses to our recreation industry, and seen injury to our environment. Now we are beginning to see the impact on our municipal water supplies."
The tour departed from Bismarck and covered sections of the river from Lake Sakakawea to Lake Oahe. The tour revealed reduced numbers of boats on Lake Sakakawea; boat ramps and cabins distant from the shoreline of the lake; compromised fish spawning habitat; and excessive shoreline weeds. Lake Oahe water levels are particularly low, illustrating the impact of the Corps' current management plan, Hoeven said.
"The solution is to shorten the barge season in the lower basin," Hoeven said. "That would allow the barges to operate, and at the same time conserve water upstream. That has not happened, so we will continue to push the issue on every front - with the Corps and the Administration, as well as in the court system - until we get a resolution."
Hoeven will attend a summit of Missouri River governors, officials of the Army Corps of Engineers and other groups interested in river management in South Dakota on September 24, 2003. He will also meet with members of Friends of Lake Sakakawea at the North Dakota State Capitol following the summit on September 25.
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