[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 66 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5322-S5323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DASCHLE (for himself and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 2105. A bill to require the Secretary of the Army to conduct a 
study of the Niobrara River watershed and the operations of Fort 
Randall Dam and Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River to determine the 
feasibility of alleviating certain bank erosion and sedimentation 
problems; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.


             NIOBRARA RIVER AND MISSOURI RIVER LEGISLATION

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, earlier this year I introduced S. 1672, 
the Missouri River Erosion Control Act of 1998. It will create an 
important new program to provide homeowners on the Missouri River with 
the assistance they need to protect their homes from shoreline erosion.
  Today, my colleague Senator Johnson and I are introducing a second 
bill that I hope will help to preserve the character of the Missouri 
River for generations to come. Up and down the Missouri River, South 
Dakotans can tell you that the river is slowly changing as a result of 
the dams built under the authority of the Pick-Sloan Act. While the 
dams undoubtedly have made positive contributions to South Dakota by 
controlling floodwaters and making affordable electricity available to 
promote rural development, they also ended the Big Muddy's ability to 
carry a full sediment load for long distances. Sediments are now being 
deposited into shallow areas of the river, causing the water table to 
rise, flooding shoreline lands and worsening erosion. In addition, the 
sediment build-up has made navigation nearly impossible in some areas.
  These problems have grown particularly severe near the city of 
Springfield, where a delta is forming downstream from the confluence of 
the Missouri and Niobrara Rivers. In order to better understand the 
causes of the sediment build-up and to develop solutions to address it, 
I am introducing legislation today to direct the Corps of Engineers to 
conduct a study of the lower Missouri and Niobrara River watershed. It 
is my hope that this study will provide the blueprint necessary to 
alleviate the sediment build-up, reduce future sedimentation, and 
preserve the character of the rivers for years to come. I hope my 
colleagues will give this legislation their full support.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.

[[Page S5323]]

  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2105

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. NIOBRARA RIVER AND MISSOURI RIVER SEDIMENTATION 
                   STUDY.

       The Secretary of the Army shall conduct a study of the 
     Niobrara River watershed and the operations of Fort Randall 
     Dam and Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River to determine 
     the feasibility of alleviating the bank erosion, 
     sedimentation, and related problems in the lower Niobrara 
     River and the Missouri River below Fort Randall Dam.
                                 ______