The South Dakota legislature fully supported the efforts of MSAC to focus the attention of the federal government on the ever increasing problems caused by sediment in the Missouri River main stem reservoirs. MSAC wrote a concurrent resolution, which was co-sponsored by all 35 Senators and by 66 Representatives, as House Concurrent Resolution 1013. It passed both houses unanimously. HCR 1013 requests the Congress 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 ratio analysis"; and 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."

This resolution is meant to draw the federal government’s attention to the problems caused by sediment. We will request the other affected states to have this same type of legislation introduced in their legislature. We will keep our readers informed of the progress.