HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1004

         A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION,  Requesting the Congress of the United States to direct the Corps of Engineers to address and rectify problems caused by the accumulation of sediment in the Missouri River main stem reservoirs.

     WHEREAS,  the Fort Peck Dam, Garrison Dam, Oahe Dam, Big Bend Dam, Fort Randall Dam, and Gavins Point Dam and their associated reservoirs were improved or constructed under the Flood Control Act of 1944; and

     WHEREAS,  the Missouri River dams were constructed to provide numerous benefits, including flood control, hydro power generation, irrigation and domestic water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife, with those benefits averaging over one billion dollars per year; and

     WHEREAS,  the Corps of Engineers 2007 Annual Operating Plan Summary of Engineering Data shows a total annual sediment inflow into the reservoirs of 92,500 acre feet per year; and

     WHEREAS,  the accumulation of sediment in the reservoirs since they began operation has resulted in the loss of over four million five hundred thousand acre feet of storage, which is the equivalent of one thousand square miles of storage seven and one-half feet deep; and

     WHEREAS,  the benefits created by the Missouri River dams accrue to all of the United States of America; and

     WHEREAS,  the Missouri River and its dams are a national resource; and

     WHEREAS,  the Corps of Engineers, the federal agency assigned the task of operating and maintaining the dams, does not specifically address sediment management in its Annual Operation and Maintenance Plan; and

     WHEREAS,  the ability of these dams to accumulate and store water for release during times of drought is essential to preservation of water-based benefits over the entire system, from the Fort Peck Dam to the mouth of the Missouri River near St. Louis, Missouri; and

     WHEREAS,  the extension of the life of and benefits provided by the Missouri River dams and reservoirs is of major importance to the United States:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,  by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-second Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature of the

State of South Dakota hereby requests the Congress of the United States of America to direct the Corps of Engineers to immediately begin work to extend the life of the reservoirs into perpetuity through addressing the rectifying of the sediment problem, adopting a life cycle financial analysis, and altering or eliminating the requirement of benefit/cost ratio analysis.

Adopted by the House of Representatives,

Concurred in by the Senate,

Thomas J. Deadrick Speaker of the House	Karen Gerdes Chief Clerk of the House
Dennis Daugaard President of the Senate	Trudy Evenstad Secretary of the Senate