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Oswald to address Congress about flood

Missouri Farmers Union President Richard Oswald will help brief members of Congress and staff Thursday about the effects of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flooding.

Oswald has been personally affected by the swollen Missouri River at his home in northwestern Missouri. Even though Oswald has lived in the same house all his life and has been through floods in 1952 and 1993, this one, he says, is different.

“This flood is different because the Corps of Engineers management of the river has basically mandated that the flood be sustained, instead of a few days, for literally months, it sounds like now,” Oswald tells Brownfield, “so we won’t be able to return home probably until September sometime.”

Oswald contends that’s a result of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ management of upstream water releases.

“They’ve tried to please too many people, too many environmentalists and too many recreationists,” said Oswald, “and they’ve done that at the expense of the flood control.”

Oswald’s house is currently in the middle of the Missouri River and the major part of his crop was lost following the Atchison County levee breach in June.

Other panelists representing related government agencies and non-governmental organizations will also participate in the briefing.

AUDIO: Richard Oswald (3 min. MP3)