The budget request includes funds to initiate and complete utility relocations and land acquisition for Davis Pond, plus initiate construction of the diversion structure and the outflow channel. MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA ESTUARINE AREAS, MISSISSIPPI AND The Mississippi and Louisiana Estuarine Areas project will provide a means to divert water from the Mississippi River through the Bonnet Carre spillway to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and the Mississippi Sound. This diversion will increase fishery production in the area and prevent loss of about 10,500 acres of coastal wetlands. Non-Federal relocations work will be initiated this fiscal year, and the funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to initiate railroad relocations and the outflow channel excavation. YAZOO BASIN, MISSISSIPPI On the Yazoo Basin project, work on the Reformulation Study is continuing this fiscal year. We have completed the draft report on the Upper Steele Bayou portion and are coordinating its review. Work on the Upper Yazoo Projects portion of the study continues. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to complete the Upper Steele Bayou final report and to complete and to coordinate the draft report on the Upper Yazoo projects. The report on the Upper Yazoo projects is scheduled for completion in December 1993. Interim reports on some of the unconstructed features of the Yazoo Basin project have been and will continue to be prepared to permit construction to continue during the reformulation process. Also in the Yazoo Basin, the funds requested for fiscal year 1993 for the Demonstration Erosion Control program will provide for initiation of eight contracts, continuation of three, and completion of 13 others. HORN LAKE CREEK AND TRIBUTARIES, INCLUDING COW PEN CREEK, TENNESSEE AND MISSISSIPPI The Horn Lake Creek project is located in northwest Mississippi and will reduce flooding of urban areas in Horn Lake and Southaven, Mississippi, as well as agricultural land along Cow Pen and Horn Lake Creeks. We expect to execute a local cooperation agreement for this project very soon, permitting us to initiate construction on the project in this fiscal year. The funds requested for fiscal year 1993 will be used to initiate work on Cow Pen Creek and to initiate and complete work on Rocky Creek, with project completion scheduled for December 1994. MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES-MAINTENANCE Our request for fiscal year 1993 for the MR&T Maintenance program is $131.4 million, which is $4.3 million more than allocated in fiscal year 1992. This request is adequate to continue our necessary operations and maintenance activities. ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION Mr. Chairman, before concluding my remarks, I would like to briefly cover a topic that is an important part of our water resource development and management mission in the Lower Mississippi Valley. This is the increasing emphasis that we are giving to the environment. While we have always been sensitive to and concerned with the environmental aspects of our projects, today we are challenged more than ever to seek opportunities for environmental preservation and restoration. This has added an important new dimension to our traditional water resource development missions. I would like to briefly note several of our significant accomplishments. ENVIRONMENTAL DEMONSTRATION AREA At the Melvin Price Lock and Dam near St. Louis, we have created an environmental demonstration area on lands which were acquired for other operational purposes of the project. In only a few years, this area has gained national visibility and attracts over 79,000 visitors per year. Several rare and endangered species frequent the area, and it has become a critical part of environmental education programs in the metropolitan St. Louis area. SECTION 1135 PROJECTS We are pursuing a number of small-scale environmental restoration projects under the authority of Section 1135 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. These projects, which are intended to restore historic environmental conditions at existing Corps projects, are among our most popular projects today. COASTAL WETLANDS PLANNING, PROTECTION AND RESTORATION ACT Working with the State of Louisiana and four other Federal agencies, we are making progress in the early stages of implementing the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act. The $33 million allocated in fiscal year 1992 will allow us to plan, design, construct, maintain and monitor coastal wetlands restoration projects that provide for the long-term conservation of coastal wetlands in Louisiana. The initial priority project list, which was transmitted to the Congress late last year, contains 18 projects that will collectively preserve about 25,000 acres of coastal wetlands. In fiscal year 1993 we expect to receive $35 million to continue this work. There are many other examples. These few are mentioned only to illustrate an important point. We are committed to planning, designing, constructing, and operating our projects in an environmentally sensitive manner and real progress is being made. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my report. [The biographical sketch and prepared statement of General Stevens follow:] BIOGRAPHY OF Brigadier General PAT M. STEVENS IV, COMMANDER, Lower MISSISSIPPI Valley DIVISION Brigadier General Pat M. Stevens IV, as LMVD commander, plays a vital role in managing the Corps water resources program in a 156,000-square-mile area of the Mississippi River valley. This area includes parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and the Mississippi River from near Hannibal, MO, to the Gulf of Mexico. The division has district headquarters at St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans. In addition, General Stevens oversees the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, the comprehensive flood control plan for the alluvial valley. He is a 1963 graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, and holds a master's degree in astrodynamics from UCLA. He is also a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, the Australian Army Staff College and the United States Army War College. General Stevens comes to the Lower Mississippi Valley Division from the position of Deputy Director for Logistics, United States Central Command, Saudi Arabia, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Prior Corps assignments include Commander, North Pacific Division, Portland, OR; Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC; Commander, Vicksburg District, Vicksburg, MS; and Area Engineer, Middle East Division, Muscat, Oman. Other key command and staff positions include Executive Officer, 1st Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, KS; United States Exchange Student, Australian Army Staff College, Queenscliffe, Australia; Commander, 30th Engineer Battalion, Fort Belvoir, VA; and Plans Officer, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Washington, DC. Among his military decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, three Meritorious Service Medals, and two awards of the Army Commendation Medal. General Stevens and his wife, Isabel, have two children, Nancy and Patrick. STATUS REPORT REPORT OF BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT M. STEVENS IV, COMMANDER, LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION OPENING REMARKS 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 FROM OUR PROGRAMS MANAGEMENT OFFICE. IN ADDITION, SEATED BEHIND ME ARE MR. SAM ANGEL, 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. RODGER 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. FLOODING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 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 1991 WAS PARTICULARLY DEVASTATING IN ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI. RECORD RAINFALL PRODUCED HEAVY FLOODING |