The River Resources Action Team (RRAT) was established in 2002 by way of a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Missouri Department of Conservation. The formation of the RRAT was intended to accomplish the following:
- Enhance and formalize a coordination process for meeting the various regulatory, statutory and procedural requirements of each agency as they relate to sustainable management of the Mississippi River within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District.
- Foster a cooperative partnership for issue identification, project planning, information exchange, and operational functions among the signatory agencies.
- Ensure a consistent interagency coordination process within the navigable reaches of the Upper Mississippi River (including the Middle Mississippi River) within the Corps’ Mississippi Valley Division.
- Identify a collaborative mechanism for planning, prioritizing, and operating future Upper Mississippi River System projects/actions and for resolving any potential conflicts and disagreements regarding river management plans of the signatory agencies.
- To provide a means for effective implementation of the reasonable and prudent alternatives (RPA) and reasonable and prudent measures (RPM) for the pallid sturgeon and least tern contained within the Biological Opinion covering Operation and Maintenance of the 9-Foot Channel Project and to provide a forum for coordination of 1) the Regulating Works and Channel Maintenance Programs; 2) the Environmental Management Program and 3) other river management programs.
- Use a team approach to restore and protect watersheds and ecosystems while fulfilling designated agency responsibilities.
The RRAT continues to meet to coordinate a variety of Mississippi River issues, programs, and projects and remains a vital mechanism for communication among the signatory agencies.