Maj. Gen. Mark Toy

President

Corps of Engineers

Mississippi Valley Division

Vicksburg, Miss.

Honorable Sam E. Angel

Senior Civilian Member

Lake Village, Ark.

James A. Reeder

Civilian/Civil Engineer

Memphis, Tenn.

Honorable Norma Jean Mattei, Ph.D.

Civilian/Civil Engineer

Houma, La.

RDML Shepard Smith

National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration

Silver Spring, Md.

Brig. Gen. Paul E. Owen

Corps of Engineers

Southwestern Division

Dallas, Texas

July 2019

Listening, Inspecting, Partnering, 

and Engineering since 1879
MISSION

The mission of the Mississippi River 

Commission is to provide water resources 

engineering direction and policy advice to the 

Administration, Congress and the Army in a 

drainage basin that comprises 41% of the United 

States and parts of two Canadian provinces in an 

effort to lead sustainable management and 

development of water and related resources for 

the nation’s benefit and the people's well-being.

STRUCTURE

The Mississippi River Commission consists of three 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officers, one member of 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(formerly the Coast and Geodetic Survey) and three 

civilians, two of whom must be civil engineers.

Each member is nominated by the United States 

President and vetted by the Senate. The membership 

on the commission captures and combines the 

expertise from two pools of the world’s most renowned 

and innovative engineering talent—the United States 

federal government and the United States private 

sector.

The commission president also serves as commanding 

officer of the Mississippi Valley Division. The other 

military members typically serve as the commanding 

generals of the Corps of Engineers’ division offices 

responsible for managing the key contributors of water 

to the Mississippi River, such as the Ohio, Missouri, 

Arkansas, White and Red rivers.

HISTORY

Congress established the Mississippi River 

Commission on June 28, 1879, with the mission to 

develop plans to improve the condition of the river, 

foster navigation, promote commerce, and prevent 

destructive floods—perhaps the most difficult and 

complex engineering problem ever undertaken by 

the federal government up to that time. In addition 

to its responsibilities for overseeing the 

improvement of the Mississippi River, the 

commission gave Mississippi Valley interests a 

greater voice in shaping federal policy—a tradition 

that continues to this day.

A long-standing practice of the Mississippi River 

Commission is to listen to the concerns confronting 

the private, local, state and federal agencies charged

with improving and managing the indispensable 

resources of the Mississippi River; to inspect the 

challenges posed by such a vast, powerful and 

living watershed; and to forge sustainable 

partnerships to overcome those challenges for the 

betterment of the nation.

Since 1879, the seven member Presidentially 

appointed Mississippi River Commission has 

developed and matured plans for the general 

improvement of the Mississippi River from the 

Head of Passes to the Headwaters. The 

commission brings critical engineering 

representation to the drainage basin, which 

impacts 41% of the United States and includes 

1.25 million square miles, more than 250 

tributaries, 31 states and two Canadian provinces.

Mississippi 

Valley 

Division

Southwestern 

Division

Great Lakes 

& Ohio River 

Division

Northwestern 

Division
CONTINUED SUCCESSFUL 

EXECUTION

In its current capacity, the Mississippi River 

Commission is charged with prosecuting the 

comprehensive river management program known as 

the Mississippi River and Tributaries project.

This project, which incorporates a variety of 

engineering techniques to improve navigation, 

reduce flood damages and enhance the environment, 

is arguably the most successful civil works project 

ever undertaken.

Since the initiation of the project in 1928, the nation 

has invested a total of $15.9 billion, with damages 

prevented reaching $1.27 trillion by Oct. 2018. This 

amounts to a 80 to 1 return for every dollar invested. 

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

 The commission recommends innovative, more 

aggressive avenues for funding and executing 

water resources missions, and applaud the 

inclusion of possible funding for water 

infrastructure in the President’s infrastructure 

initiatives. 

 A multigenerational commitment to invest in our 

water commerce infrastructure transformed this 

great nation from a largely agrarian nation to the 

world’s pre-eminent economic power. 

 Our nation’s inland waterways system has more 

miles of navigable river than the rest of the world 

combined.

 The inland waterways connect the main industrial 

centers of the interior with coastal ports.

 The inland navigation system overlays the largest 

contiguous section of farmland in the world. Most 

prime agricultural lands are within 120 miles of a 

navigable river. 

 95 percent of all United States imports and 

exports ($4.1 trillion) move on our waterways and 

ports.

 Inland waterways account for two billion tons of 

domestic and imported cargo annually.

Public meetings, then . . . 

and now