A compact couldn't be worse than the Corps

An editorial in the Bismarck Tribune (North Dakota): The degree to which the Missouri River has been mismanaged became clear when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it would only reduce the elevation of Lake Sakakawea behind Garrison Dam to 1,837 feet by March 1, 2012. That elevation, slightly below March of this year, means the odds of flooding again next spring remain strong.

Circumstances on the nearly 2,400-mile river -- saturated banks, levees and flood plains, dams near capacity, continued high releases into the fall, ongoing wet weather -- give the corps little choice. Record snow pack, rain events and corps decisions over the years combined to set up this disaster, and now we are nearly out of options in preparing for 2012.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple wants to dump the corps management of the river and replace it with a compact of Missouri River states. Presently, the corps finds itself bound by a congressional act, restrained by Congress, locked in by a master operating manual, pressured by special interests and second-guessed by everyone. Shifting to a compact would be complicated, but not impossible. Once in place, it could be more responsive to the changes by eliminating one or more layers of absentee (Washington) river management.

"It's hard to imagine that it can be worse than it is today. Any compact would establish clearly the priorities of uses," Dalrymple said this week. He's right on that account...

An aerial view of the Garrison Dam in North Dakota, US Army Corps of Engineers photo