President Barack Obama recently appointed Brigadier General Mark Toy as a member of the Mississippi River Commission.
Toy is commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The division has seven engineer districts totaling over 4,100 people operating in a seventeen state area and is charged with directing federal water resource development in the Great Lakes and Ohio River basins with infrastructure valued at over $80 billion.
With an annual operating and construction budget exceeding $2 billion, missions include planning, construction and operations of navigation structures and flood damage reduction, hydropower, environmental restoration, water conservation, recreation and disaster assistance.
The Mississippi River Commission was created by an Act of Congress on June 28, 1879, to plan and provide for the general improvement of the entire length of the Mississippi River. This includes improving navigation, preventing destructive floods and facilitating commerce.