WASHINGTON, D.C.--Senator John Thune has been invited to participate in a hearing being held next week by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee regarding the management of water levels along the Missouri River prior to this year's historic flooding in South Dakota. The hearing, "A Review of the 2011 Floods and the Condition of the Nation's Flood Control Systems," will be held on October 18, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET.

"I look forward to participating in the upcoming EPW Committee hearing to learn more about the reasoning behind decisions that were made leading up to the flooding disasters of this spring and summer," said Thune. "Homes, businesses, families, and entire communities in South Dakota were devastated by flooding that many were told could never happen. A number of questions remain unanswered about how, when, and why decisions were made by the Army Corps of Engineers and I look forward to hearing from those responsible for the decisions that led to tremendous devastation and what the plan is to ensure that similar flooding does not occur in the future."

Senator Thune led a bipartisan group of 14 Senators in sending a letter to the EPW Committee in July requesting a hearing on the Missouri River Flood.

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