The recent rains that brought flooding back to Northwest Indiana are a reminder that the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission's work is urgent.

Yet the commission is just spinning its wheels, unsure what to expect from the Indiana General Assembly.

The commission is waiting for answers to two questions:

* How much will the state provide in its new budget for the commission's work?

* Will the commission's membership be changed?

The answer to that first question isn't going to come before the Legislature wraps up its work at the end of April. That's just the nature of the budget process as political deals are cut at the last minute.

But the commission shouldn't be forced to wait until the end of April to see how its membership might change.

House Bill 1716, now before the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, should be zipping through the process and become law soon.

Just look at the support this legislation has received in the region:

* authored by state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso;

* co-authored by Reps. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland; Linda Lawson, D-Hammond; and Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster;

* sponsored in the Senate by Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso; Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond; and Earline Rogers, D-Gary;

* cosponsored by Sens. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake; and Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes.

HB 1716 would shake up the commission membership, require audits and financial reports, and make other changes.

Until that is resolved, how can the commission know whether to hire a management company or an executive director? The agency is dead in the water, so to speak, until this legislation is passed.

Meanwhile, the rains will continue to come, and the threat of floods will continue because of the unfinished levee work.

The recent high water levels are a reminder of the need to get this work done quickly, as Gov. Mitch Daniels has indicated must be done.

Revamp the commission, then get to work on finding the funds to finish, finally, this long overdue project.