Missouri’s two U.S. Senators are calling for a stakeholder meeting to discuss how to close a 1,500 foot gap in a Mississippi River levee located in the southeastern part of the state.
In a joint statement released today, Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt say a host of government agencies have failed to make adequate progress closing the gap.
Construction on the St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway project stalled out in 2007 because of technical problems related to its Environmental Impact Statement.
The senators say in the years since the work stoppage, disagreements between federal agencies have prevented restarting the project.
McCaskill says she has reached out to the EPA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demanding a resolution, but has yet to receive an adequate response.
In the joint statement, Blunt says it’s inexcusable that the project continues to be plagued by what he calls “endless delays and bureaucratic indecision.”
