"I want the Mississippi River to be a living, healthy ecosystem and not
a
highway for barges," said Debbie Neustadt of Des Moines, who volunteers
for
the Sierra Club .


   Farmers ask for more river locks, environmentalists
disagree


03/22/2002
   Associated Press
Newswires
   Copyright 2002. The Associated Press. All Rights
Reserved.


   DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - Farmers and businessmen pushed for a
quick
   resolution of a nine-year, $57 million study of the Upper
Mississippi
   River and Illinois Waterway navigation system and urged that new
locks
   be
built.


   Environmentalists said the need for new locks has been overstated
and
   the efficiency of river transportation over rail and roads has
been

exaggerated.


   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers convened a public hearing
Thursday
   night to unveil its revamped study, which resumed last
August.


   The meeting, the last in a series of five over the past week, is
the
   first time in two years the Corps has held public hearings on the
study.


   Much of the session was a recitation of what occurred since the
study
   began in 1993 and how it was restructured in the wake of
investigations
   sparked by a
whistleblower.


   When the 200 people in the audience were invited to speak, many
farmers
   and businessmen wanted the plan to include five new locks on
the
   Mississippi from Canton, Mo., to north of St. Louis and two on
the
   Illinois
Waterway.


   Some also pushed 1,200-foot guide wall extensions at four lock
sites
   surrounding the
Quad-Cities.


   "It's time to bring this process to a close," said Denny Denton,
a
   Princeton, Ill., farmer, who represented the Illinois Corn
Growers
   Association and the state's Farm Bureau. He and others talked about
the
   lost income to farmers from congestion on the river's navigation
system.


   Farm interests estimate that $364 million will be lost per year by
2020
   if the navigation system is not
improved.


   Representatives of environmental groups said less would be
better.


   "I want the Mississippi River to be a living, healthy ecosystem and
not
   a highway for barges," said Debbie Neustadt of Des Moines,
who
   volunteers for the Sierra Club
.


   The scope of the restructured study has been broadened beyond
surveying
   simply navigation needs to also include ecological and
floodplain
   factors as
well.


   Previously, the Corps was trying to come up with a single forecast
of
   navigational needs by
2050.


   An interim report is due this July; a draft feasibility study is due
in
   the winter of
2004.


   The need for a speedy conclusion was a common theme among those who
want
   to see locks expanded. Some environmentalists, however, are worried
that
   the time frame may be too
aggressive.

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