COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

JAMIE L. WHITTEN, Mississippi, Chairman

FREDERICK G. MOHRMAN, Clerk and Staff Director

The Honorable Silvio O. Conte was Ranking Minority Member of the Committee until his death on February 8, 1991.

The Honorable William H. Gray III resigned from the Committee on September 11, 1991.

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT

APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1993

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1992.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

CORPS OF ENGINEERS

LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION

MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION

WITNESSES

BRIG. GEN. PAT M. STEVENS IV, COMMANDER, LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION

FRED H. BAYLEY III, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING

THOMAS F. CAVER, JR., CHIEF, PROGRAMS MANAGEMENT OFFICE

WILLIAM H. REEVES, PROGRAMS MANAGEMENT OFFICE

Mr. BEVILL. Next we have General Pat Stevens of the Lower Mississippi Valley Division. General, we are glad to have you and your staff with us. You may just proceed as you wish.

General STEVENS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I am Brigadier General Pat M. Stevens IV, Commander of the Lower Mississippi Valley Division.

Members of our staff who will be assisting in testimony are Mr. Fred Bayley, III, Director of Engineering; Mr. Fred Caver, Chief of the Programs Management Office; and Mr. William Reeves of the Programs Management Office.

In addition, seated behind me are Mr. Sam Angel, the senior member of the Mississippi River Commission; our Director of Planning, Mr. Randy Hanchey; our Director of Real Estate, Miss Lucille Latta; our Executive Assistant, Mr. Roger Harris; Mrs. Sarah Godwin; Mr. Charles Lestage; Mrs. Gwen Jones; and Mrs. Carol Flowers.

Mr. Chairman, with your permission I would like to present a summary report and ask that the complete report be placed in the record.

Mr. BEVILL. That would be very good.

FLOODING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

General STEVENS. Before I begin my presentation on the fiscal year 1993 budget request, I would like to briefly discuss the significant flooding which occurred in the Lower Mississippi Valley during the spring of 1991.

APRIL THROUGH JUNE 1991 FLOOD EVENTS

Flooding during April, May and June of 1991 was particularly devastating in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Record rain

(1223)

fall produced heavy flooding in the Ouachita and Black, the Red, and the Yazoo and Sunflower River Basins. This rainfall resulted in the wettest April on record for south Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, averaging 200 to 420 percent of normal. Localized flooding also occurred in the Salt River and St. Francis River Basins in Missouri and northeast Arkansas.

SUMMARY OF FLOOD DAMAGES INCURRED AND PREVENTED

A total of 26 deaths were attributed to the flooding. It is estimated that approximately $382 million in damages were incurred over a five-state area within the Lower Mississippi Valley. Completed and partially completed Corps projects prevented almost $8 billion in damages. An additional $144 million in damages were prevented by Corps emergency response activities, primarily in the Monroe, Louisiana, area.

PROGRAM SUMMARY

Mr. Chairman, now I will turn to our program. Our total program consists of two parts: The Lower Mississippi Valley Division and the Mississippi River and Tributaries. Our fiscal year 1993 total program requirement is $687 million prior to any assignment of savings and slippage. This compares to $817.3 million allocated for fiscal year 1992.

LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION PROGRAM

Turning now to the Lower Mississippi Valley Division program, we have Civil Works responsibility in a portion of seven sates bordering on the Mississippi River, generally from near Hannibal, Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico.

GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS

Our request for $7.9 million in fiscal year 1993 under the General Investigations Program is $3.7 million less than was allocated in fiscal year 1992.

SURVEYS

Let me briefly cover some of the studies under this program.

INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY LOCKS, LOUISIANA

The Intracoastal Waterway Locks study will address the need for navigation capacity expansion along the GIWW System west of the Mississippi River, including seven locks. The system's principal problems are delays to commercial traffic at locks due to limited lock capacity and increasing traffic. Algiers Lock is the most congested, with significant delays occurring at other locks. Funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to continue the feasibility phase of this study.

HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

The reconnaissance phase of the Hot Springs, Arkansas, study was initiated under the Ouachita River Basin comprehensive study and will be completed in April 1992. Funds available in fiscal year 1992 are being used to continue into the feasibility phase.

The National Park Service has been appropriated $500,000 in fiscal year 1992 to be made available to the City of Hot Springs for

use as part of the non-Federal share of the cost-shared feasibility phase.

The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to continue the feasibility phase of the study.

JEFFERSON-ORLEANS AREA, LOUISIANA

We are completing the reconnaissance phase of the Jefferson-Orleans Parishes study with fiscal year 1992 funds. Potential solutions to interior flooding problems are being investigated, as well as the impact of discharging interior drainage water into surrounding water bodies. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to continue into the feasibility phase.

BOSSIER PARISH, LOUISIANA

The reconnaissance phase of the Bossier Parish, Louisiana, study was initiated under the Red River Basin comprehensive study in November 1991 to evaluate the flood problems experienced as a result of a levee crevasse on Red Chute Bayou during the spring 1991 flood. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to continue into the feasibility phase of the study.

JACKSON METROPOLITAN AREA, MISSISSIPPI

The Jackson Metropolitan Area, Mississippi, study is addressing major flood problems attributable to the Pearl River. The 1979 flood of record, for example, caused an estimated $300 million in damages. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to continue the feasibility phase of the study.

PRECONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND DESIGN

COMITE RIVER, LOUISIANA

The feasibility study for the Comite River, Louisiana, area was conducted under the Amite River and Tributaries study authority. The study addressed flooding in the vicinity of the urban centers of Baker, Zachary, and part of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The estimated cost of the recommended plan, the Comite River diversion, is approximately $83 million. Funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to continue Preconstruction Engineering and Design efforts, which began in February 1991 and which are scheduled to be completed in September 1995.

WEST BANK-EAST OF HARVEY CANAL, LOUISIANA

The fiscal year 1993 request includes funds to initiate Preconstruction Engineering and Design on the West Bank-East of Harvey Canal, Louisiana, project.

The tentatively selected plan recommends the raising of existing levees to provide a standard project hurricane level of protection in the area east of the Harvey Canal in Jefferson and Orleans Parishes, and the Belle Chasse area in Plaquemines Parish.

CONSTRUCTION, GENERAL PROGRAM

Turning now to our construction program, our budget request of $141.8 million includes a contribution of $18.9 million from the

Inland Waterway Trust Fund. Our request totals $141.6 million less than our fiscal year 1992 allocation. The funds requested will provide for continuation of 15 projects. There are no new construction starts.

MELVIN PRICE LOCK AND DAM, ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI

A number of significant milestones have been achieved on the Melvin Price Lock and Dam project, including opening of the main lock to navigation and removal of the old Locks and Dam Number 26 to a point that traffic can now pass the site unimpeded. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to complete the final stage of the dam and miscellaneous work on the lock. Completion of the overall project has been extended to fiscal year 1998 to include the construction of recreation facilities in Alton, Illinois.

MELVIN PRICE LOCK AND DAM, SECOND LOCK, ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI

Construction on the Second Lock is also progressing satisfactorily. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will allow completion of this project in May 1993.

RED RIVER WATERWAY, MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA

On the Red River Waterway project, we presently have 24 active contracts underway valued at $455 million. Construction of Lock and Dam 3 is scheduled for completion this June. All remaining work in Pool 3 is scheduled for completion in September 1994.

The first phase of construction on Locks and Dams 4 and 5 is now complete, and contracts for the main lock and dam construction at both sites were awarded on schedule in December 1991.

The fiscal year 1993 budget request includes funds to continue construction in Pools 1, 2, and 3.

I am pleased to note that, as a result of Public Law 102-240, which was signed last December, Lock and Dam 1 will be known from now on as the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Lock and Dam.

LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, LOUISIANA, AND VICINITY

The Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection project provides protection from a standard project hurricane to New Orleans and the surrounding parishes. In fiscal year 1992 we are initiating levee and floodwall work in the New Orleans West unit and continuing levee construction work in the New Orleans East and Chalmette units.

In fiscal year 1993 we are continuing construction of these units and continuing design of parallel protection along the Orleans and London Avenue outfall canals in the New Orleans East unit.

WESTWEGO TO HARVEY CANAL, LOUISIANA

The Westwego to Harvey Canal project will provide hurricane protection to the urban areas between Westwego and the Harvey Canal through improvement of existing levees or addition of new levees and floodwalls.