WHEREAS, the Fort Peck Dam, Garrison Dam, Oahe Dam, Big Bend Dam, Fort Randall Dam, and Gavins Point Dam and their associated reservoirs were improved or constructed under the Flood Control Act of 1944; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri River dams were constructed to provide numerous benefits, including flood control, hydropower generation, irrigation and domestic water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife; and

WHEREAS, the Corps of Engineers’ 2004 Annual Operating Plan Summary of Engineering Data (line 37) shows a total annual sediment inflow into the reservoirs of 92,500 acre-feet per year; and

WHEREAS, the accumulation of sediment in the reservoirs since they began operation has resulted in the loss of over four million five hundred thousand acre-feet of storage, which is the equivalent of one thousand square miles of storage seven feet deep; and

WHEREAS, the benefits of the Missouri River dams accrue to all of the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri River and its dams and reservoirs are a national resource; and

WHEREAS, the Corps of Engineers, the federal agency assigned the task of operating and maintaining the dams, does not specifically address sediment management in its Annual Operation and Maintenance Plan; and

WHEREAS, the extensions of the life of and benefits provided by the Missouri River dams and reservoirs to the greatest extent possible is of major importance to the United States:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Eightieth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature of the State of South Dakota hereby requests the Congress of the United States of America to direct the Corps of Engineers to immediately begin work to extend the life of the reservoirs into perpetuity through addressing and rectifying the sediment problem, adopting a life cycle financial analysis, and altering or eliminating the requirements of benefit/cost ration analysis; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be forwarded to President George W. Bush, the Speaker and Minority leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and the Minority leader of the United States Senate, Corps of Engineers General Grissoli, Senator Tim Johnson, Senator John Thune, Representative Stephanie Herseth, and the Governors of the states of Montana, North Dakota, and Nebraska.