Iowa congressmen seek to change Missouri River plans

The U-S Senate has voted to order the Army Corps of Engineers to consider alternatives for Missouri River flow rather than stick with the plan from the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service. Farmers downriver say the Fish and Wildlife plan harms them, Senator Tom Harkin was among the Senators who pressed for a more balanced alternative he says will take into account all the needs of the river.Senators Harkin and Charles Grassley of Iowa, along with Missouri’s two Senators, sponsored the Senate amendment on the issue. Harkin says if a more reasonable alternative for Missouri River flow isn’t reached, there will be lawsuits.Congressman Tom Latham represents many of the Iowa counties which border the Missouri River, and he says the Senate action is a victory — but Latham wants to go further and dump the Fish and Wildlife Service plan altogether because it calls for a spring rise in the river flow that would cause flooding.The issue will be debated, again, in a House/Senate conference committee.