Congress OKs more than $39 million for projects in Southeast Missouri

The federal government plans to spend millions to repair Clearwater Lake dam, repair the Cape Girardeau floodwall, among other water projects in Southeast Missouri.

Congress late last week passed spending bills that include more than $39 million for 15 programs and projects in the region.

Besides water projects, the spending package includes $1.15 million for continued operation of the NASA Educator Resource Center. The money will go to operate the center at Southeast Missouri State University and five other offices that the center operates around the state. The federal dollars also will go to operate the Southeast Explorer, the university's traveling museum, congressional officials said.

The region's three drug task forces will split half a million dollars over the next year.

The largest single expense is $22 million for repairs to the leaking Clearwater Lake dam, followed by $7.95 million for the New Madrid flood-control project to protect the area from Mississippi River flooding.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said repairs to the Clearwater dam will take several years and about $90 million to complete.

"Dam problems like that are the No. 1 priority of the Corps of Engineers," she said.

The spending plan includes $300,000 for design and preliminary engineering for repairs to Cape Girardeau's concrete floodwall.

Emerson said it's a safety issue. "If we had a Hurricane Katrina or a '93 flood we would probably be tempting fate," she said.

The Corps of Engineers wants to spend about $9 million to repair the floodwall and upgrade two pumping stations over the next several years.

Expansion joints in the concrete structure need to be replaced or resealed, and a section of the wall needs to be replaced, Corps officials have said.

U.S. Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent voiced support for the various projects.

"I will continue to use my position as Missouri's senior senator to return hard-earned tax dollars to the state for the projects important to Missourians," Bond said.

Bond and Talent said the spending package includes $140 million for water and energy projects in Missouri. The Southeast Missouri projects are just part of that total.

"Our locks and dams are old enough to collect Social Security, and frequent flooding is keeping communities poor by stifling economic opportunity," Talent said. "This funding addresses these concerns on behalf of Missouri."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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