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<br />OPENING REMARKS
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<br />~PR 1:1 f:l :1988
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<br />Larry Fas!wndN. !Jrt\\idf'nl
<br />.\fI8.~f)uri Ba.~irl Stale., ..h..ociatum
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<br />\\'eICOffie 10 the Sympoiiium on the :\tj!;~()urj Rivl:'r
<br />.\lain Stt'ffi System Operation. I am Larr~: Fasbender.
<br />Director of the :\lontana O(>panment of :\'atural He-
<br />sourc{'~ and Conservation and also thp current Pres.
<br />ident of In€' :\ti!isouri Hasin States :\;;sociation. In
<br />thefit' opening comments, I would like 10 con-,. two
<br />items. FirH. I understand from having spoken with a
<br />number of p{'ople last night who were at tht' recepti()n,
<br />that some of you art' unfamiliar with the Missouri
<br />Hasin States AssOt'iation. I would therefoft' like to takE-
<br />R few minutes to dt'scriht. that organization. and after
<br />1hM I have some remarks about tht' symposium itself.
<br />
<br />In the :\fisflouri Hin'r Basin, a lon~ line of rp~ional
<br />planning and coordimlling- bodies have SUccef'(led Ollt'
<br />another on'r the past forty years or more. The 'lis.
<br />souri Basin Stales Association, sometimes cal]e-d the
<br />~IBSA, is the most recent in that line. The Association
<br />was formed by the Gon-rnors of the :\tissouri Basin
<br />Statps in Octoher of 1981, following-It'rmination ofthr
<br />:\tissouri Ri,'pt Basin Commission by the currpnt fed.
<br />era] administration. Forming- the .-\ss(l('iation was pvi.
<br />dence thai thp states ht'lien-d and adhert'd!O tht' idea
<br />that reg-ional coordination of watt'r rpsourc{- mana~e-
<br />ment is not only necessary, hut thaI a key role should
<br />be played hy the statf'S Ihemsel\"es.
<br />
<br />The Association is a nonprofit corporation orga.
<br />nizpd under Xenraska law. It is g"onrnE'd by a Hoard
<br />of Directors compose-d of one me-mb('t lrom e-ach of
<br />the ten 8talt's within top :\fis.souri Basin. Toosp Hates
<br />are Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, :\linnesot8. .\Iissouri,
<br />:\lont8na. Xpbraska, Xorth Dakola, South Dakota,
<br />and Wyoming. Thp g-o\"prnor of each state appoints a
<br />member to thp Association, Bnd most of those ap.
<br />pointees are ...enior Water re...ourcp officials, A]so, fed.
<br />eral ag'ency representatins and othpt re,e-iona] water
<br />interests ar(' invitpd 10 attend mosl As,;ociation meet.
<br />ings as ohs.er\"prs.
<br />
<br />When toe A,;so{'iation was. formt"d, its major goals
<br />were to comp]t'tf' some of the studif'.'i and to continue
<br />somt' of tht' t'ull('tions of the now dt'funct :\lissouri
<br />Hiver Hn,.;in Commis.sion. Xow the .-\,;sO{'iation's pri-
<br />mary pllrpo,.;t" is, and I quote, "To conduct, encourag-e,
<br />and participate in actl\'ities which promole interstal{"
<br />('oorrlination of watN re-source managem{'nt within
<br />thp :\Iissouri Hiver Basin." This symposium is an !'x.
<br />amplf> of that.
<br />
<br />Th{" As,;ociation r(-cent]y df'Cidrd to streamline its
<br />opt-rations and reduet' its eo,;ts. Consequently, thp
<br />:\IBSA offi{'e, which is located in Omaha, wi]] close
<br />all April!, HIM. The work nt'the Asso{'iatiun will then
<br />b{" carried on hy its Board of Directors without staff.
<br />
<br />The second subject I would like to discuss with ...'ou
<br />concerns uK!ay's program. Tht> :\Iissouri Hiver itself
<br />has a IOllg history of dt'wlopment. Dave Pt'terson,
<br />'IHS..... staff memlwr, will highlig-ht that history in a
<br />pr(-sentation later loday. .John \'{"]ehradsk.\', who is
<br />with the Corps of Eng-inet'fs, will tht'n cover the mllny
<br />federal Iltws. policies. and rpgulatinns that inl1uenc{"
<br />And ~'lJidt" toe oj){'ralion of the :\Iissouri Hiver systf'm;
<br />the system as Wt' know it today, that is. :\fissouri Hiver
<br />Division Commander nellera] Ryan, and members of
<br />his ,;taff. will then revirw the operation of the reser-
<br />voirs and the riwr s.vstt'm in greatf'r rlf'tail.
<br />
<br />Th{' heart of thp symposium Cnnws this afternoon
<br />woen we will hear from many of toe !<ystem's eus-
<br />IOmf'r,;. We han dt"lilx-rat{'ly avoided prt"sentations
<br />from .'itate or fE'<:leral al!ency personnel at this point
<br />in the prog-ram. In,;tead, w{' ha\-e askPd the private
<br />sector to exprt's.'i ils vipw,;. Thesp are the CUstomers
<br />of Ih{- S~'slem or their repres.entatives. The-;;e are the
<br />ones who recei\"{' the nenefits. and ...omt'time!' bear the
<br />impacts of ";yslem operations.
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