Nixon Launches Suit to Stop Missouri River Spring Rise

Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed a lawsuit to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from conducting a manmade flood, or Spring rise, on the Missouri River in May. The rise is supposed to help some endangered fish in the river. Nixon says the Corps has not followed the environmental rules governing such a release. Besides, Nixon says, the release of the water would come at a time of year when thunderstorms in this part of the Missouri River Basin could dump a lot of water into the river after the water had been released from reservoirs in the Dakotas. He points out it takes more than a week for the water to get to this state after it is released, and it could unexpectedly rain a lot between the release time and the time it arrives here. Attorneys General in North Dakota and South Dakota – unlikely allies – have been asked to join the suit. They’ve yet to decide if they want to do that.