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Corps: Breaching Birds Point helps more than just Cairo

By Erin Hevern ~ Southeast Missourian

Intentionally breaching a levee on the Mississippi River, opening the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway, could lower water levels along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers four feet, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public information officer said Thursday.

"It wouldn't be like pulling a cork out of a bathtub. ... It's not going to lower things that fast," Jim Pogue said. "But it would have a desirable effect."

Cairo city officials believe without the breach, the city could be the next 9th Ward of New Orleans. The floodway could be opened once river levels reach 60 feet, and at 6 p.m. Thursday the Ohio River measured at 58.87 feet, less than a foot below record flood stage. The river is still expected to crest Sunday at 60.5 feet and could hit 60.1 feet Saturday.

Opening the spillway would flood more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Southeast Missouri, mostly in Mississippi County.

"It's a shame that anyone would argue that saving farmland in a designated floodway is more important than saving lives," Cairo Mayor Judson Childs said.

The corps, with the president of the Mississippi River Commission, is expected to decide on whether to explode Birds Point levee this weekend, although corps officials said in a news conference late Thursday they're doing everything to avoid the action.

Around 260 households evacuated Cairo so far this week, per a voluntary order from Childs.

As they wait to see what the river does, Pogue said the issue has become "all about Cairo versus Missouri."

"That's really not accurate. What this is about is making sure that we don't have too much pressure on the flood risk management system, on the whole system," he said.

Pogue continued to point out that breaching the levee intentionally would be less destructive than waters topping over a levee.

The corps is also concerned about a levee north of Birds Point -- the Commerce Levee -- that Pogue said without the intentional breach could cause floodwaters to go outside the Mississippi County spillway to the west.

"Instead of flooding 130,000 acres in a controlled fashion we'd be looking at uncontrolled flooding of a lot more acres," Pogue said. "There's just so much more to this than just Cairo."

At Cairo on Thursday, city clerk Lori Hasselrod said the levees have continued to hold and the city's pumping stations were working at full capacity after another round of storms hit the area Wednesday night.

Childs was present at a Thursday court hearing in Cape Girardeau, where Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order to halt any plans to breach Birds Point.

Cairo police chief Gary Hankins said the city infrastructure has not been affected too much, although residents continue to pump out their basements and backyards. Roads closed to traffic early in the week -- many of them in the north end of Cairo near Edgewood Park -- have now been opened.

"Actually, the break in the weather has helped. The groundwater inside town we're finally having an opportunity to get that out," Hankins said.

Up to two more inches could fall in the region Saturday night.

This week, Hankins increased patrols, putting officers on alternating 12-hour shifts. Every officer is working every day, he added.

"There's no days off right now. I've pretty much tripled the manpower," he said.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon visited other parts of Southern Illinois via helicopter Thursday, including Marion and Olive Branch.

Most of Olive Branch has been evacuated due to rising river levels and overflow from Horseshoe Lake.

Supporting the corps' plan to breach the Birds Point levee, Simon said in a news release that families are more sacred and valuable than farmland.

"We will work to ensure that the best course of action is pursued by the Army Corps of Engineers and that state and federal agencies continue to bring relief to all who need it," she said in the release.

From the Southeast Missourian...

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Judge holds off on decision in Birds Point hearing

By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian

U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. was mulling what he described as "esoteric, technical" legal questions Thursday night after listening to more than five hours of testimony regarding whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to blow a Mississippi County levee in an effort to control floodwaters.

Limbaugh recessed after 7 p.m. and said he would expedite a ruling on Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's motion for a temporary restraining order. The ruling could be filed electronically overnight, though his decision was not expected to be made public until at least this morning.

The order, if granted, would block the corps' still-undecided plan to detonate explosives on the Birds Point levee in Mississippi and New Madrid counties to alleviate pressure of the floodwaters upstream.

But Limbaugh said he was not convinced it was his place to say.

"I'm really concerned about my authority to get involved," Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh cited an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals 1984 decision in "an almost identical case," which held that the corps had authority to manage the waterways. That court ruled that authority was beyond judicial review.

Limbaugh is looking at each of the state's counts, which maintain that the corps would be unlawfully adding pollution to the waters of the state and that the corps actions in implementing the plan to breach the levee is illegal because the corps has been "arbitrary, capricious and abused their discretion."

Illinois and Kentucky joined the lawsuit Thursday, intervening on the side of the corps. Tom Davis of the Illinois attorney general's office joined an already full room of lawyers at the Rush H. Limbuagh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

Koster and lawyers from his office argued that if the levee is breached, it would be a disaster for Southeast Missouri residents in the corps' proposed spillway.

"The devastation that is about to occur over this 130,000 acres will last for a generation or two generations, and every consideration needs to be given before this step is taken," Koster said before the hearing. "This should absolutely be a decision of last resort."

James Wilson, the former mayor of Cairo, Ill., and the executive director of the city's housing authority, was at the hearing and said he expects a ruling within 24 hours. Cairo, a city of 2,831 as of the 2010 census, sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and its residents were asked Tuesday to voluntarily evacuate.

"Time is of the essence," Wilson said. "The river is rising as we speak. Our position is the Corps of Engineers is the experts of flood control. Nobody else is. The plan has been in effect since 1927, it's been reviewed several times. If you can't go with the experts for what you need for flood control, who can you go to?"

Cairo Mayor Judson Childs said blowing the levee is the only solution he can see to relieve pressure in Cairo and in other places.

"I'm hoping he will do the right thing," Childs said of Limbaugh. "It's lives versus land."

Childs, whose last day as mayor is Monday, also said he was disappointed with Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley, who came under fire this week for saying he would rather flood Cairo than farmland in Missouri.

When Tilley, R-Perryville, was asked about seeing Cairo or the farmland underwater, he told reporters, "Cairo. I've been there. Trust me. Cairo."

"Have you been to Cairo?" he added. "OK, then you know what I'm saying then."

Tilley has since issued a written apology.

"As the Speaker of the Missouri House I came to the defense of Missouri, but in doing so I said some inappropriate and hurtful comments about the community of Cairo," the statement read. "I first want to apologize for my insensitive remark and personally apologize to anyone that I offended."

The statement added, "My commitment to the residents and farmers of Southeast Missouri should not have led me to insult another community and for that I am sincerely regretful."

But Childs said he was still a little upset.

"I thought that was very tacky for some appointed official to say that," Childs said. "It's a depressed area, so he's going to say let them drown? That's disappointing."

During the hearing, Koster's office called six witnesses and the lawyers for the corps called four. Charlie Kruse, former president of the Missouri Farm Bureau and director of the state's agriculture department, said enacting the plan to flood the spillway will send chemicals and herbicides into areas outside the spillway and pollute the nearby waterways. Silt will render much of the land useless for farmers for years to come, he said.

Davis Minton, deputy director for the Missouri Department Natural Resources, testified that the floodway has petroleum storage tanks, farm chemical storage buildings and propane gas tanks. The water, which will be unleashed at 550,000 cubic feet of water per second, will also wash away much of the land, residences and equipment, he said.

But Robert Lerned, an economist with the corps' Memphis District, said the financial cost could be much worse if the levee isn't breached. A study he conducted recently places financial loss at $314 million in Mississippi County if the levee is blown. That loss would come from damaged cropland, lost production and destroyed homes.

But if the levee isn't breached, the damage estimates could reach $1.1 billion, he said, in areas in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky that would see worse flooding.

From the KFVS TV Channel 12 Website...

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Judge rules corps can move ahead with levee blast

By Christy Hendricks

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - A federal judge is giving the go-ahead to the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to intentionally break a Mississippi River levee in southeastern Missouri.

The break could happen as early as this weekend to spare a flood-threatened Illinois town just upriver.

Friday's ruling in Cape Girardeau turns back Missouri's bid to block the corps from blasting a hole in the Birds Point levee in Mississippi County, just south of Cairo, Ill.

Missouri argued the floodwaters would ruin farmland and damage about 100 homes.

The Army Corps has called the possible break necessary to ease waters rising near Cairo, a 2,800-resident town where the rain-swollen Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet.

It wasn't immediately clear if Missouri would appeal the ruling.

Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. heard arguments from attorneys for Missouri and the Army Corps of Engineers Thursday on a corps' proposal to blow a 2-mile-wide hole through the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri. The corps says breaking the levee would ease waters rising around the upstream town of Cairo, Ill., near the confluence of the swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Missouri says the rush of water would ruin prime farmland, flood about 90 homes and displace 200 people.

Near the beginning of the hearing, Limbaugh said he would expedite the case given the circumstances.

Koster's legal team argued the Corps' action would violate Missouri's Clean Water Act and cause "certain damage" to the state and its people.

A corps economist testified a levee failure here in Cairo could result in $265 million in damage, although the Corps acknowledged it's still holding.

Judge Stephen Limbaugh took the motion under advisement just after 7 p.m. Thursday, and Koster says the judge has a tough call to make.

"It's a hard set of facts and there are a lot of interests that have to be weighed on both sides of the state line and throughout the federal justice system, said Koster. I think the judge took in the information. I think he's got a very difficult decision that he has to make overnight."

For its part, corps lawyers countered they have "unreviewable discretion" when it comes to implementing the floodway plan that "could" result in the blasting of that levee.

They also stressed the blasting option does not come into play unless and until the river overtops the levee at its lowest points, or 60.5 feet.

Stay with Heartland News and kfvs12.com for updates.

From the KFVS TV Channel 12 Website...

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Cairo mayor: residents strongly directed to evacuate

By Amber Ruch

CAIRO, IL (KFVS) - Cairo Mayor Judson Childs is strongly urging residents to make plans on evacuating in the next 24 hours.

The mayor especially urges senior citizens, people with medical conditions or special needs and families with children that live in single-story homes to get read to evacuate.

According to the mayor, as the river reaches record levels on the Cairo Gauge, there are more sand boils occurring inside the city and the North Cairo Drainage District.

This is the strongest warning short of a mandatory evacuation.

From the KFVS TV Channel 12 Website...

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Mandatory evacuations for those in Mississippi Co. spillway

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS/AP) - Authorities are going door to door to homes in the floodway area in Mississippi County enacting a mandatory evacuation order after a federal judge ruled the Army Corps of Engineers can break a levee and flood the farmland if necessary to spare an Illinois town upstream.

This effects about 300 residents in around 100 homes. A majority of the homes are in the Pinhook area.

The Mississippi County wants everyone in the spillway area to be out by 4 p.m. Friday. They are shutting of power at 5 p.m.

No one will be allowed to go back. It will be heavily guard by the county and National guard.

Meanwhile, Missouri officials are appealing the federal judge's ruling.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. ruled Friday that the corps' plan to breach the Birds Point levee is appropriate to ensure flood-control along the Mississippi. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis a short time later.

[Read the ruling.]

The corps has proposed using explosives to blow a 2-mile-wide hole through the levee in southeast Missouri's Mississippi County. They agency says doing so could ease waters rising around the upstream town of Cairo, Ill., near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

A federal judge is giving the go-ahead to the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to intentionally break a Mississippi River levee in southeastern Missouri.

The break could happen as early as this weekend to spare a flood-threatened Illinois town just upriver.

Friday's ruling in Cape Girardeau turns back Missouri's bid to block the corps from blasting a hole in the Birds Point levee in Mississippi County, just south of Cairo, Ill.

Missouri argued the floodwaters would ruin farmland and damage about 100 homes.

The Army Corps has called the possible break necessary to ease waters rising near Cairo, a 2,800-resident town where the rain-swollen Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet.

Jim Pogue, Public Information Officer for the Army Corps of Engineers says their concern is to protect the greatest amount of people and that the earliest decision would be made is this weekend.

The blast would blow a 2000 foot section of the levee. The corps is in a holding pattern and monitoring water levels.

Pogue says there is no hard and fast numbers that if the water level reaches a certain point to determine what would do.

He says if the corps plans to go ahead with the blast, they will try to give people a 24 hour notice to get out.

This would be the first time explosives would be used on the levee since 1937.

"I thank the court for making the right decision in allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take the steps it deems necessary to ensure public safety during this crisis," said Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Friday. "We must now continue to work together to protect the lives of everyone affected by this severe flooding. My hope is that this decision will be upheld as it proceeds through the judicial process."

Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. heard arguments from attorneys for Missouri and the Army Corps of Engineers Thursday on a corps' proposal to blow a 2-mile-wide hole through the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri. The corps says breaking the levee would ease waters rising around the upstream town of Cairo, Ill., near the confluence of the swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Missouri says the rush of water would ruin prime farmland, flood about 90 homes and displace 200 people.

Near the beginning of the hearing, Limbaugh said he would expedite the case given the circumstances.

Koster's legal team argued the corps' action would violate Missouri's Clean Water Act and cause "certain damage" to the state and its people.

A corps economist testified a levee failure in Cairo could result in $265 million in damage, although the Corps acknowledged it's still holding.

Judge Stephen Limbaugh took the motion under advisement just after 7 p.m. Thursday, and Koster said the judge had a tough call to make.

"It's a hard set of facts and there are a lot of interests that have to be weighed on both sides of the state line and throughout the federal justice system," said Koster Thursday before the ruling. "I think the judge took in the information. I think he's got a very difficult decision that he has to make overnight."

For its part, corps lawyers countered they have "unreviewable discretion" when it comes to implementing the floodway plan that "could" result in the blasting of that levee.

They also stressed the blasting option does not come into play unless and until the river overtops the levee at its lowest points, or 60.5 feet.

From the Southeast Missourian...

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Rain in weekend forecast; releases from Kentucky, Barkley lakes cut

By Melissa Miller ~ Southeast Missourian

Showers and storms forecast Sunday and Monday are likely to bring an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall to Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, said David Humphries, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Paducah. The area could see a total of 2 to 4 inches of rain through Tuesday, he said, but this rainfall isn't likely to bring higher crests along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

"The overall impact on the larger rivers is that it will slow the recession after the crest," Humphries said.

Dams at Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers will continue to cut water releases over the next 24 hours in an effort to mitigate flooding on the Ohio River.

These rivers empty into the Ohio River, just above where the major flooding begins, upstream from Cairo, said Rachel Trevino, National Weather Service forecaster.

Holding the water in these lakes keeps the water normally released from them from contributing to water levels downstream in the Ohio and the Mississippi, Trevino said.

The water levels at Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake are rising rapidly due to the reduction in water releases. The pool at Kentucky Lake yesterday was 364.9 feet, while Lake Barkley was at 364.8 feet. This is about 7 feet above the typical summer pool.

CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

The last post above was dated 4 p.m. However, I just heard the same thing on tonight's KFVS TV Channel 12 Ten O'clock News.