Yeah, I know, the MSAC newsletter is running late again.  It is solely my fault.  I have been waiting for a couple of things to develop that I could report on, but things in Congress move at a slow pace sometimes.  But now is the time to get this out to you, so here goes.

First, we have lost Colonel Kurt Ubbelohde, District Engineer and Commander of the Corps of Engineers, Omaha District to reassignment.  He has been assigned to duty in Iraq.  We wish him well, and hope he keeps his head down.  Col. Ubbelohde was good to work with, and he will be missed.  His duties in Omaha have been assigned to the new District Engineer/Commander of the Omaha District, Col. Jeff  Bedey.  I have visited with him by telephone, and we are working to set up a face to face meeting at a time of his convenience.  We are also hoping to get his Commanding Officer, General Grissoli, in on the meeting. We look forward to working with Col. Bedey, and will push hard on achieving continued cooperation with the Corps.

We have also lost our Interim Facilitator, Kevin King.  Kevin was the City Engineer for the City of Pierre when we first organized MSAC, and he was of vital importance in getting us up and running.  Kevin resigned his position with the City of Pierre, and has accepted a position with Armstrong Engineering Co. in Grand Junction, Colorado.  We wish Kevin, his wife Karla, and their children good fortune, and hope they enjoy the terrific peaches available in that area.

We have also had a resignation from our Board of Directors.  Gary Drewes has resigned as a Director, due to a change in his profession, and a change in residence.  Gary was Mayor of Pierre and he first recognized the need for this type of organization. He was instrumental in getting us started.  We wish Gary good luck in his new endeavor, even though we will miss his guidance and participation.  His position on the Board will be filled either by appointment, or through election at the annual meeting.

That pretty well covers the happenings relative to changes in the people we work with.  Now for what has been happening since our last newsletter.

Director Keith Mushitz and I made a trip to Washington, D.C. in June.  Our efforts there concentrated on making contacts with congressional offices in the upper Missouri River states.  That little chore kept us busy for the two days we were there.  We met with aides for our two South Dakota Senators, Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson, and aides of Minnesota Senators Coleman and Dayton, Iowa Senator Harkin, Nebraska Senators Nelson and Hagel, Nebraska Representative Bereuter, North Dakota Senator Dorgan, and Montana Representative Rehberg.  South Dakota Representative Herseth was a little busy getting sworn in, as she had just won the election to Congress the day before, so we could not get a meeting with her in Washington.  However, Keith did meet her in the airport in Sioux Falls, and did carry a little of our message to her at that time.  We are also setting up a meeting with her here in South Dakota at the first opportunity she has available.  Our reception from all of those we met was very good.  We will continue our efforts to meet whenever, and wherever, we can with all of our congressional people, and will continue to push for support in the form of Missouri River caucus of all the states affected and benefited from the dams and reservoirs.

MSAC has also been quite active in attending many meetings to get our word out.  These include speaking at a meeting in Bismarck and one in Mandan, both of these relative to soil conservation and land and watershed management issues.  The meeting in Mandan shows the problems in other states as well as South Dakota.  Mandan, North Dakota had severe problems with sediment at their water intake, as did the Tessoro Oil Refinery in Mandan.  The accumulation of sediment coupled with the low water levels caused by the drought put the intakes in danger of becoming closed down.  Corrective action by the city saved the day.  Fort Yates, North Dakota, Tribal headquarters for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and the main water source for the reservation, had to shut their water treatment plant down when the low water level of Lake Oahe, caused by the drought, and the heavy accumulation of sediment at the intake destroyed the flow into the intake.  The Bureau of Reclamation responded to the emergency, which took place in the dead of a very cold winter, and working with contractors got the intake functioning again in a remarkably short time, under very adverse conditions.  Our congratulations to them on a job very well done.  I also visited with the Mayors of Williston and Garrison, North Dakota.  Garrison is dealing with the low level of Lake Sakakawea, but is getting by for now.  Williston, at the top end of Lake Sakakawea, and just below the mouth of the Yellowstone River, has serious problems with sediment.  Sediment is an issue in North and South Dakota, Montana and Nebraska, and will ultimately destroy many of the benefits these dams and reservoirs provide, not only in those states, but in many others as well.

MSAC also presented proposed platform statements to both the Democrat and Republican Platform Committees at their state conventions.  I have been told that we will be included in their platforms, but I have not seen the final draft.

In June, Mayor Dennis Eisnach of Pierre, Director Rod Liesinger and I met with representatives of Governor Rounds in what I felt was a productive meeting.  We filled them in on what we have accomplished so far, and what we are continuing to work on.  They were supportive of our efforts, and will relay our message to the Governor.  I am also continuing discussions with aides of the governors of North Dakota and Nebraska.

That is our report for this newsletter.  We have been involved in many other meetings and communications, but too many to go into detail.  We will get the next issue out before the annual meeting, with a list of the Directors who will be up for election.  We hope you can attend the annual meeting. The date and time will be set by the Board of Directors at our next Board of Directors meeting, and a notice of the annual meeting will be sent to all members.  The next Board of Directors meeting will be in Platte, South Dakota on September 22 at 9:00 a.m. in the community room next to City Hall.  All are invited to attend this meeting.  Hope to see you there.