I attended the Corp meeting in Davenport and my
impression is that the study will examine a wide range
of economic scenarios which will lead to several
alternatives; one of which environmentalist will like
and one which Navigation and Big Ag will like and some
in between(like the MissouriRiver alternatives) and
the final decision will be a political one, not a
scientific one. One thing we can do in the meantime is
ask congress to fully fund the Environmental
Mitigation Plan.

Charlie Winterwood

--- Jane Clark <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks to Debbie for providing the article on the
> Mississippi and for her
> great quote. The article below was in the last Iowa
> Sierran.  There were
> three meetings in March posted at the end of the
> Sierran article, but all of
> those meetings have already been held.
>
> What to do now?  You could write letters to the
> Governor, your state senator
> and representative, to Senators Harkin and Grassley,
> and to your
> Congressman.  Rep. Nussle and Leach are obvious
> targets, but Rep. Boswell
> should be, too.
> Thanks,
> Jane Clark
> ==
> Corps Upper Mississippi/Illinois Rivers Navigation
> Study Resumes!
> By Mark Beorkrem
>
> The US Army Corps of Engineers much-plagued and
> scandalized study of how to
> improve the efficiency of commercial navigation
> traffic on the Upper
> Mississippi River above St. Louis and on the
> Illinois River from Peoria to
> the Mississippi River was restarted in August of
> 2001.
>
> The Corps restart recognizes that the previous
> study, limited to examining
> just improvement to commercial navigation, was too
> limited and failed to
> address key concerns regarding the environmental
> degradation that has
> occurred in sixty plus years of damming-up these
> rivers and the resulting
> increase in barge traffic.
>
>   A paraphrasing of the restated Goals and
> Objectives of the Navigation
> (Nav) Study reveals their observations on how to
> proceed:
>
> a) navigation system is aged and inefficient;
> b) calculate National Economic Development costs due
> to congestion;
> c) the ecosystem of both waterways is in decline;
> d) the growing barge traffic may accelerate the
> decline perhaps
> precipitously;
> e) stated the goals are to improve effectiveness of
> navigation system,
> achieve environmental sustainability of navigation
> system and resources it
> directly impacts;
> f) explore developing a comprehensive and holistic
> approach considering
> multiple purpose uses.
>
> Clearly this leaves lots of room for interpretation
> and the environmental
> community is approaching the restarted study with
> cautious optimism.  The
> Corps study team, located in the Rock Island
> District, is aggressively
> pursuing a policy of collaboration with all
> potential partners and, to their
> credit, are attempting to move the study forward in
> that atmosphere.
>
> The Corps Study Team is tasked by Corps Headquarters
> with completing an
> Interim Report for forwarding to Congress by July
> 2002.  This report is NOT
> intended to complete the study, rather it is to
> update HQ and Congress on
> how the team believes it must proceed under the new
> collaborative atmosphere
> and with a balance of all resources towards
> sustainability in mind.
> Potential conflicts in current authorities that
> restrict Corps management in
> achieving sustainability should be identified in the
> report, as well as
> outlining a framework by which the Navigation Study
> can be completed and
> comprehensive planning needs addressed.
>
> The key is comprehensive planning of managing all
> the uses of the
> Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.  Since 1986, the
> Federal government has
> invested well over $1 Billion in rehabilitating and
> restoring the concrete
> and mechanical/electrical components of the locks
> and dams.  An additional
> $1 Billion was invested in the building of the new
> Lock and Dam 26 near
> Alton, Illinois.  Additionally over $800 million
> went in to regular annual
> operations and maintenance of the locks and dams,
> bringing the commercial
> navigation investment to nearly $3 BILLION.  During
> this same time period,
> only about $220 Million was invested into the
> Environmental Management
> Program initiated out of compromises on building the
> second 1200-foot lock
> at Lock and Dam 26 at Alton.
>
> Biologists ALL AGREE, the river ecosystems are
> seriously in decline, due to
> sedimentation of backwaters, resuspension of
> sediment due to barge wake
> action and wind fetch, due to loss of backwater and
> side-channel habitat
> areas and more.  The in-balance of current
> management practices must be
> changed to restore these rivers.  The restarted
> Navigation Study, if done
> with a requirement for achieving sustainable
> ecological operations of the
> commercial navigation system, may provide the proper
> management atmosphere.
> But it will require vigilance.  The study will last
> a minimum of two more
> years and realistically, comprehensive management
> requires constant study
> and management assessment of ongoing operations and
> observation of natural
> resource changes. This isn't going away any time
> soon.
>
> In mid-March, the Corps will host five public
> meetings to update the public
> on the restarted study and to elicit feedback
> regarding the new study
> approach.  We urge you to come out and voice your
> interest in the Corps
> pursuing comprehensive management options, as we
> believe the law requires,
> and voicing your needs for a restored river
> ecosystem.  For further
> information contact Sierra Club's Mississippi River
> Protection Project
> Volunteer Coordinator, Mark Beorkrem at 314-882-8425
> or
> [log in to unmask]
>
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