Noem to hold flood hearing

Rep. Noem announced yesterday taht she is going to hold a hearing on Missouri flooding at the end of the month. (She's working on her 40th birthday, I'm impressed!)

U.S. Representative Kristi Noem (R-SD) announced today that the U.S. House Missouri River Flood Working Group will hold a hearing in Washington, DC on November 30th to discuss the Missouri River flooding of 2011. The group received approval from House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) to host the hearing through the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

This is an important hearing, as although this summer's water levels were off the charts, the management of the Missouri should be on the table. It isn't just our friends in Dakota Dunes; there are also other things (birds, fish, drinking water) that maybe need a bit more consideration than river navigation when we have a weird year on the river.

Hopefully the issue of personal responsibility will come up, given many of South Dakota's "best and brightest" aren't exactly setting the best example, with former Gov Rounds' retirement nest being built right next to the river in the Pierre floodplain. I suppose that's asking a lot.

Note: Hearing Time, Location and Witness List will be made available soon.

As soon as October's political contributions are tabulated.