By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit for a controversial levee project in St. Peters.
The 4-mile levee would shield a proposed 300-acre business park called "Lakeside 370" in the Mississippi River flood plain.
The Great Rivers Habitat Alliance is opposed to both the levee and development.
Adolphus Busch the Fourth, the head of the Great Rivers board, says building in the flood plain could have far-reaching effects.
"You can easily make the comparisons to New Orleans, when all you have to do is look at the wall down in St. Louis that was only inches from being breached in 1993," Busch said.
Busch says the Alliance will file suit against the Corps within the next couple of weeks.
There are already lawsuits pending over the use of tax increment financing and the plan to build within the flood way.
A Corps spokesperson says engineers gave the permit careful consideration over two years.