A federal judge has ruled the U-S Army Corps of Engineers caused increased flooding on the lower Missouri River by making changes to comply with the Endangered Species Act.
Judge Nancy Firestone with the U-S Court of Federal Claims is telling the government it has to pay landowners for flooding damage caused by those changes.
The judge says the Corps’ actions violated constitutional protections against taking property without compensation.
The ruling doesn’t cover all flood-related damages and not all property owners between Sioux City, Iowa and St. Louis will qualify for compensation.
