Letter to the Honorable Robert Van Antwerp, Jr., Lieutenant General of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Imminent Flooding in Sioux Falls

Letter

The South Dakota Congressional delegation sent the following letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to express concern about the possibility of imminent flooding in Sioux Falls today:

March 15, 2011

Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, Jr.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Government Accountability Office Building
441 G Street, NW, Attn: CECS-C
Washington, DC 20314

Dear Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp:

We are writing to express our concern about the possibility of imminent flooding in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area and to request that you approve and use all due haste when considering requests for advance flood prevention measures and emergency response.

As you know, Governor Daugaard has declared a State of Emergency because of predictions from the National Weather Service that Sioux Falls faces a near certain probability of a major flood event and a significant probability that it will be the biggest flooding event since 1969. It is our understanding that the Omaha District is currently considering various flood mitigation measures in concert with the City of Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County. However, we are concerned that bureaucratic concerns related to emergency funds management may not allow funds to be approved in time, or simply not approved. Given the significant flooding risk, this would be unacceptable.

Furthermore, once these funds are approved, it is our understanding that it would take one or two days to contract the necessary work and an additional five days to complete that work, depending upon the scope of the advanced measures solution. Given that the flood is expected to crest in just nine to thirteen days, any proposal from the Omaha District needs to be approved as quickly as possible.

Finally, when considering this request, we would like to underscore the unique efforts that the City of Sioux Falls has proactively taken to arrange advance funding for the federal government's outstanding cost share regarding the Big Sioux River Flood Control Project. Given this, we believe that the Corps has a unique responsibility to aid the City and ensure that all appropriate measures are being taken. After all, if it were not for the steps taken by the City of Sioux Falls, the Corps of Engineers and the federal government would be faced with an even greater emergency.

Thank you for your consideration of this request; and we stand ready to work to ensure that unnecessary delay is avoided.

Sincerely,

John Thune
U.S. Senator,

Tim Johnson
U.S. Senator,

Kristi Noem
U.S. Representative

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