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The Missouri River originates on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains near Three Forks, MT, and
<br />flows 2,320.7 mi (3,734 km) through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska,
<br />Kansas, and Missouri to its confluence with the Mississippi River near St. Louis, MO. The Missouri
<br />River is the second longest river in the United States. Its basin drains approximately 529,350 mil
<br />(1,371,017 km2), including 9,700 mil (25,123 km2) in Canada; all of Nebraska; most of Montana,
<br />Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota; about half of Kansas and Missouri; and smaller parts of
<br />Iowa, Colorado, and Minnesota. The primary tributaries are the Yellowstone, Marias, Niobrara, 4k
<br />James, Platte, and Kansas Rivers.
<br />The Corps' Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System (System) (Figure 1) consists of six integrated
<br />dams and reservoirs located in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Reservoir
<br />releases from the System eventually go through the lower most dam and enter the lower river which
<br />includes the Missouri River BSNP from Sioux City, IA, to the mouth at St. Louis, MO. The six main
<br />stem dams and reservoirs are Fort Peck (Fort Peck Lake), Garrison (Lake Sakakawea), Oahe (Lake
<br />Oahe), Big Bend (Lake Sharpe), Fort Randall (Lake Francis Case), and Gavins Point (Lewis and
<br />Clark Lake). Construction of the main stem dams was completed in 1964. The System first filled to
<br />normal operating level in 1967. The System contains 73.4 million acre -feet (MAF) of storage. This
<br />capacity constitutes over 70 percent of the total storage in the basin's 1,300 plus reservoirs.
<br />The Pick -Sloan Missouri River Basin Program (Pick -Sloan Program), authorized under the lood
<br />Control Act QfI2_44. authorized construction of all the main stem projects with the exception of Fort
<br />Peck, which was originally authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1935. The Fort Peck Power
<br />Act of 1938 authorized construction of power facilities at the project while the Flood Control Act of
<br />1944 authorized multiple - purpose regulation of this project similar to the other main stem projects.
<br />Congressionally authorized purposes of the main stem projects are flood control, irrigation, navigation,
<br />recreation, fish and wildlife conservation, municipal water supply, water quality control, and power
<br />generation. The Corps has responsibility for the operation of the dams while Reclamation has the
<br />responsibility to determine the use of reservoir water for irrigation. Once the Corps determines that
<br />water in a main stem reservoir may be used for irrigation, Reclamation obtains Congressional
<br />authorization under Reclamation laws. After irrigation works are constructed, Reclamation administers
<br />the irrigation use of the water. The Corps also schedules hydropower generation based on project
<br />release requirements. The Western Area Power
<br />Administration (WAPA) markets and transmits the energy generated at the six main stem powerplants.
<br />The Pick -Sloan Program called for an efficient use of the waters of the Missouri River basin for all
<br />purposes. A later amendment to Section 1 of the Flood Control Act of 1944 under the Pick -Sloan
<br />Program (O'Mahoney- Millikin Amendment) established that navigation use of the System shall only be
<br />considered so long as it does not conflict with any beneficial consumptive use that exists now or in the
<br />future. Thus, Congress has authorized multiple System purposes, and the Corps exercises discretion
<br />over operation of the System for those purposes.
<br />Proposed Action -MR Operations 33
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