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Thune said he has met with other senators from the region and believes even the downriver states, which have often complained of getting too little water from the river, would appreciate more focus on flood control.
"What this has taught us is that flood control is the highest priority."
DAKOTA DUNES IA -- Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon in front of the emergency operations center at Liberty National Bank in the Dunes, Sen. John Thune called several times for a review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' master operating manual for the Missouri River dam system.
He said it is imperative that the protection of life and property is the corps' No. 1 mandate.
Thune spoke after Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, who talked to reporters after viewing the Dunes' south levee from the river. Both officials expressed concerns about the historic high release of 160,000 cubic feet per second of water now coming over Gavins Point Dam.
Thune, R-S.D., told reporters, "What this has taught us is that flood control is the highest priority."
He noted the frenetic, round-the-clock levee construction he witnessed at the Dunes two weeks ago and bemoaned the displacement of residents who had to leave their homes, store their possessions and find another place to live for several months. Or permanently.
"This is very disruptive to people's lives and very expensive," Thune said. "There is going to have to be an accounting of how the decisions were made. We need to get the answers."
The corps' new master operating manual -- which took 14 years to produce, mostly due to working through a plethora of legal challenges -- continues to give the agency eight major responsibilities. Those include recreation, water supply, hydro-electrical generation, and the protection of endangered species, along with flood control.
Thune said he has met with other senators from the region and believes even the downriver states, which have often complained of getting too little water from the river, would appreciate more focus on flood control.
FEMA AID, FLOOD INSURANCE
Thune said communities are already strapped to pay for flood prevention efforts and reported that he has talked with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the corps about the finances of the flood.
He said he blieves FEMA is prepared to help communities in the path of the flooding, perhaps by paying part of the costs to build the levees. Dakota Dunes alone has borrowed up to $10 million to pay for its preventive measures, for example.
He also encouraged governments to start filing claims with FEMA, saying the director told him the agency is ready to receive them and begin processing the forms.
Thune advised residents who bought federal flood insurance before June 1 to begin filing claims. He also advised those who bought flood insurance after June 1 to file. "There is more than one trigger date," he said.
Thune said that reducing the dam releases will be a gradual process but did not expect the corps to draw it out this fall. "They're going to have to do repair work on the reservoirs, too, so they want to get it down before winter," he said. "They're as anxious as anyone to get it down so they can prepare for next winter.
'HOLDING UP WELL'
Michels said the ongoing addition of thousands of tons of riprap to the Dunes' riverside, or south, levee had slowed quite a bit from the frantic pace of a week ago but that some was still being added.
On Sunday, the levee sustained some "piping," a small wash-out at its base caused by an eddy. Michels reported that the addition of the riprap near Bay Hill Circle had forced that circular current about 15 feet out into the river and that it is smaller now.
"I was pretty concerned about what 160,000 cfs was doing to the levee," he said. "I'm pleased to report it is holding up very well."
The corps does not plan any more increases in the flow level of dam releases, he said, but it depends on rainfall.
"Snowmelt is going at a good pace," Michels said. "The wild card is rain events.
"We have to be vigilant," he advised. "This is just the beginning of a long flood fight."
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