Last week, Gov. Mike Parson signed an executive order creating a flood recovery group. It is tasked with giving feedback and submitting reports about the state’s short-, medium-, and long-term flood recovery priorities and on the state’s levee system.
Missouri’s Agriculture Director says Parson’s new group is not just to benefit Missouri. Chris Chinn says the goal is to establish Missouri’s path forward in rebuilding infrastructure, revitalizing damaged flood ground and refocusing flood control priorities.
Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn
“What steps are we going to take forward? This isn’t just about Missouri,” she tells Brownfield Ag News. “We’ve got to work with Kansas and Iowa and Nebraska moving forward to make sure that our efforts here in Missouri are going to complement their efforts as well.”
The governors of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas have begun collaborating, having met this spring with Corps of Engineers officials about prioritizing flood management of the Missouri River.
“The members of this (task force) include the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Economic Development Department, MODOT, and SEMA, as well as river coalition members and ag organization members and some local governments,” says Chinn.
According to a press release from Parson’s office, more than 80 levees have overtopped or breached this year.
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