Levee Artificially Opened

Only USDA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency could describe the result of pumping a liquid mix of sodium perchlorate and aluminum powder into 1,000-foot long pipes, then using blasting caps with C-4 explosives as an “artificially opened” agricultural levee.

None other than Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate made the following statement on blasting open the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway in central Missouri:

“Last night and today, as part of a flood risk management plan designed to minimize damage to property, structures and to protect millions of people from historic flood levels along the Mississippi River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers artificially opened the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway  (video link) in central Missouri.”

We only wish the artificial opening had spared the many towns and farms down river from the damage and loss they are suffering this week. ◆