Missouri River Authorized Purposes Scoping Summary Report
The Missouri River Authorized Purposes Scoping Summary Report presents public and Tribal comments received during the 2010 scoping period, and the Corps consideration and early positions regarding those comments.
This report addresses all eight authorized purposes as directed by Congress in the Omnibus Appropriation Act of 2009. Congress suspended MRAPS funding in FY 2011; therefore, this report summarizes study progress, which is suspended pending further funding. The Corps is the lead agency for the MRAPS and the Bureau of Reclamation is a primary study partner. The Omaha and Kansas City Corps of Engineer Districts co-lead study management.
A draft of this report was released for public review on March 5, 2011, and a series of public and Tribal feedback meetings were held to share feedback on the draft scoping report. The feedback period continued through April 30, 2011. The feedback received is available here and is presented in Appendix H of the Scoping Report (Feedback Addendum). The Feedback Addendum also indicates how the draft report was revised to address the feedback received.
The Corps understands that as a result of the 2011 Missouri River Flood event, the physical conditions, concerns and issues across the Missouri River basin may have changed. The MRAPS scoping and feedback periods were conducted prior to this flood event; therefore, this report does not reflect the changed conditions and viewpoints following this unprecedented flood.
The Corps interacted with the public throughout the 2011 Flood event and will continue to do so in the coming months. The Corps continues to address the various issues arising from the 2011 Flood through multiple forums. However, the Corps believes this MRAPS scoping report remains relevant as a reference point for any future assessments and post-flood activities within the basin, as follows.
- The MRAPS inventory of existing Federal basin infrastructure and associated authorized purposes provides the basis for reviewing infrastructure damage and damages avoided related to the flood.
- The MRAPS-proposed hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and the incorporation of reasonable climate change considerations are relevant for use in assessing flood risk reduction alternatives.
- The MRAPS-proposed process for assessing effects to other important economic and environmental resources would facilitate trade-off analyses and inform the public, Tribes and decision makers when seeking out additional flood risk management options.
- Finally, the broad comprehensive engagement example set by the MRAPS scoping efforts, and the MRAPS-proposed organization of cooperative teams both may serve as a suitable framework for involving the public, Tribes, local interests, State and Federal agencies, stakeholders, and various non-governmental organizations in future post-flood assessment activities.
If MRAPS is funded by Congress in the future, it is the Corps' intent to work with the aforementioned entities to ensure the MRAPS scope adequately recognizes the changes wrought by the 2011 Missouri River Flood.