Corps: Miss. River levee repairs could cost $1B

VICKSBURG, Miss. – A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official says the cost of repairing Mississippi River levees that were damaged by this year's flooding could reach $1 billion, but it's not clear how much funding will be available.

Col. Thatch Shepard, deputy commander of the Mississippi River Division, told The Associated Press on Thursday that repairing the levee system could cost $700 million to $1 billion. The Corps budget for the fiscal year is $210 million, so Shepard said he's hoping Congress will approve supplemental funding.

There were preliminary signs this week that Congress is listening.

A House Appropriations panel on Wednesday approved $1 billion in emergency money to repair levees and other flood control projects damaged by flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The Senate panel has yet to act.