CORPS HEARS PLEAS FOR HELP AGAINST FLOODING

"We need your help," was a comment repeatedly echoed Monday during a public hearing conducted aboard the Mississippi River Commission's (MRC) inspection boat, the Motor Vessel Mississippi.

The hearing was the first of four hearings that will be conducted by the MRC and Army Corps of Engineers. The officials are conducting their annual spring high-water inspection trip on the lower Mississippi, from Cape Girardeau to New Orleans.

Due to high water, the Monday stop, first scheduled at the Cape Girardeau waterfront, was moved to the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority's public dock east of Scott City.

"Our purpose in being here is to inspect the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) project and to give the public an opportunity to express views," said Brig. Gen. Eugene S. Witherspoon, of Vicksburg, Miss. and president of the MRC.

Witherspoon, in his "state of the valley" report, said that during the summer flood of 1993, the St. Louis gauge remained above the 30-foot flood stage 79 days from June 27 through Sept. 13. The river was over flood stage again or 23 days starting Sept. 15.

"Add in 45 days that the St. Louis gauge was above flood level in the spring of 1993, and that adds up to a total of 147 days during the year," said Witherspoon. That surpasses the previous high of 80 days during the 1973 flood.

Witherspoon said that while the areas along the Upper and Middle Mississippi River were being devastated by the flood of 1993, "flooding along the Lower Mississippi River was limited to a few farmland acres just south of Cairo, Ill."

This is due, said Witherspoon, to the great carrying capacity of the Lower Mississippi River, and because the Ohio River's flow remained below normal during the same period.

The Lower Mississippi, from Cairo south, is protected by federal levees that were constructed following the big flood of 1927.

There are many federal levees north of Cairo, but many levees are privately build and maintained.

One of those is the Len Small Levee District in Alexander County, near Miller City. The levee gave way last year, flooding more than 30,000 acres of prime agricultural land.

"We need help in Southern Illinois," said Lee Roy Rendleman, of Jonesboro, a member of the Tri-County Flood Team, which includes Alexander and Union counties.

"We have 155,000 acres of farm land in the tri-county area," said Rendleman. "We also have about 60,000 acres conducive to wildlife, which attracts more than a million Canada geese to this area each year, providing several million dollars to the area's economy. We also have several industries which provide jobs and financial stability to our economy."

Rendleman said several businesses use the river for transportation, along with railroads, which provide some 48 trains every 24-hour period.

"Last year, we lost more than 40,000 acres of our farm land to the flood -- most of it in Alexander County when the Len Small levee breached -- and another 35,000 to seep water," said Rendleman. "Some industries and the train tracks were spared -- by inches.

"We'd like to see a 200-year level levee system here," Rendleman told the Commission. "Right now, we' probably at a 50-year level and we have to get people out there to build up the levee."

John Robb echoed the "we need help" plea.

Robb, of the Upper Mississippi River Flood Control Association," thanked the MRC and Corps for all the temporary help during the Flood of 1993, but said that "we now need a comprehensive Upper Mississippi River plan north of Cairo -- such as the plan which was put in to effect South of Cairo following the 1927 flood.

"We need a single authority to put such a plan into effect," said Robb. "We believe the Mississippi River Commission could do this."

Several speakers discussed their needs during the three-hour meeting before the Mississippi V departed to Memphis, where a second hearing will be held at 9 am. today.

Speakers included officials from the river drainage district in the New Madrid area, and a spokesperson for the Coast Alliance, a national network of citizen groups working together to improve environmental protection for the nation's coasts and shores.

The Coast Alliance representative urged the Corps to more actively spare wetlands along the Mississippi and to more closely monitor sentiment contamination following the flood last year.

Commissioner Brig. Gen. Gerald E. Galloway Jr., dean of the academic board at West Point Military Academy, said that the U.S. health department is looking into monitoring the sediment.

The MRC was organized in 1879 and is composed of seven members, each nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.

Duties of the MRC include recommendation of policy and works programs, the study of and reporting upon the necessity for modifications or additions to flood control and navigation projects, and making inspection trips.

The area of responsibility for the Mississippi River Commission extends along the Mississippi River and its tributaries from Cape Girardeau to the Gulf of Mexico. The commission usually inspects the river and holds public hearings twice annually -- the high-water trip in the spring, and a low-water inspection in the fall.