Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Project Selected for Climate and Disaster Resilience Investment

KANSAS CITY, MO – FEMA, state emergency management, and representatives from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD) will be available to the media on Thursday, September 1, to discuss the recent selection of a resiliency project that has been identified as part from FEMA’s $1.1 billion climate program. and investment in disaster resilience.

The Papio River-Missouri NRD project is the first Nebraska project to be selected for additional review under FEMA’s National Building Infrastructure and Resilient Communities (BRIC) Competition. The Papio WP-4 project is a water storage and flood risk reduction structure (a dam) in the South Papillion Creek Basin near the city of Gretna. The structure is designed to control runoff from a 500-year rainfall event in the belief that there will be future urban development in the watershed. The proposed project is intended to provide benefits, including the protection of more than 40 properties, nine structures, and environmental benefits for 48 acres. Those benefits include improved water quality, new riparian habitat, and recreational space for the local and metropolitan populations of Omaha. This project is a long-term solution with an estimated usage period of 50 years.

WHAT: Media availability for official comments, questions and answers.

WHO: Speakers include:

  • Pete Ricketts, Governor, State of Nebraska
  • Andrea Spillars, Administrator, FEMA Region 7
  • Major General Daryl Bohac, Director, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
  • Kevyn Sopinski, Chairman of the Papio NRD Board of Directors
  • Don Bacon, Congressman, 2 from NebraskaNorth Dakota District

WHEN: 8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. CT, Thursday, September 1, 2022.

Note: Official comments will begin at 8:00 am, followed by a question and answer session with FEMA, NEMA and Papio NRD.

WHERE: Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, 8901 S. 154the St. Omaha, NE, 68138

CONTACT: Please RSVP to the FEMA Region 7 News Desk at 816-283-7095 or [email protected] by August 31.