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Ernst says flood control should be Corps’ top priority

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says flood control along the Missouri River should be the top priority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Ernst says the Corps is putting too much emphasis on environmental protections for fish and wildlife.

“I hate to think that we are actually considering fish and wildlife—while it’s very important, I will not disagree with that—but is it more important than the life and safety of human beings, and their livelihoods. I would say that, no, it’s not a higher priority,” Ernst said.

She made those comments to reporters following last week’s Senate EPW Committee hearing in Glenwood, Iowa.

Corps official John Remus told the senators the agency works to balance all the uses of the river. He says flood control is the main concern anytime flooding is imminent.

Missouri Representative Sam Graves, whose district includes the northwestern Missouri area impacted by flooding in March, has introduced a bill removing fish and wildlife as an authorized management priority on the Missouri River. It would make flood control the highest priority.