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U.S. Supreme Court refuses to save levee
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May 2, 2011
Missouri: This Sunday the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled against Missouri by refusing to block the Mississippi River Commission's plan to intentionally breach the levee protecting farmland.[1]
It has not yet been decided whether Missouri's levee will be blown up but in preparation Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh (dead link) has ordered several barges into place to begin pumping explosive slurry into a levee near where the two rivers meet.[1][2]
If the Missouri levee is blown it will be in part to save the town of Cairo, Illinois, which is currently in danger of being wiped out if its own levee fails.
- "The litigation is out there, but that's not our focal point, quite frankly," and "This doesn't thrill us, where we are, but this is a (difficult) situation. ... We understand the general and his team have difficult decisions to make."[1] -Governor Jay Nixon accompanied by Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh (dead link)
In opposition to the Missouri Levee's destruction, Missouri U.S. Senator, Roy Blunt said, "If that happens, we've lost lots of productive farmland in Missouri, for I would suspect this year, and maybe more than this year," While Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, says Missouri is making "Yet another unfortunate and legally unjustified attempt" at keeping federal authorities from protecting Illinois residents.[2]
Footnotes
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