ACTION NEEDED:

Letters are needed to offset heavy lobbying to put new locks on Mississippi
and Illinois rivers.  If you missed the series of meetings over the past 2
weeks (and even if you didn't), jot a quick letter tonight and get it in
the mail tomorrow.  It doesn't have to be complicated -- just voice your
opinion.

The address is    U.S. Army Engineer District, Rock Island
                            ATTN: CEMVR-PM-A
                            Clock Tower Building
                            P.O. Box 2004
                            Rock Island, Illinois 61204-2004

Mail by August 11, 1999.  A summary of the workshops will be available
after  Oct. 1 on their home page
http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/pdw/nav_study.htm.  A recap will be in the
September navigation study newsletter.
=========================================================
-- Early results of the Navigation Study show that longer locks are not
economically justified, and that they won't be justified until at least
2020. For more details, see the December issue of the Mississipi Monitor at
http://www.amrivers.org/mm/missmonitor1298.html

-- The Navigation Study is not complete, and won't be complete until the
end of 2000 as the soonest and the environmental study isn't complete.

-- Mississippi River habitat is already being lost faster than we can
replace it. Doubling the number of barges on the river will accelerate the
lost of side channels and backwaters, critical nurseries for wildlife,
because barge wakes push sediment into side channels and backwaters.

-- Doubling the number of barges on the river will double the numbers of
trucks driving into communities with barge terminals.
===========================================================

               Longer Locks are Not Economically Justified - The Corps of
Engineers has recently concluded that longer locks will not be economically
justified until 2020. Even when demand for Mississippi River barges is
steady, the benefit of expanding locks 20 through 25 is not
outweighed by the costs for 20 years, according to preliminary economic
findings for the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Navigation
Study. By contrast, small-scale measures such as helper boats and mooring
buoys are more economically attractive.

               Longer Locks Threatens River Health - The environmental
impacts of additional barge traffic have not yet been assessed, but they
are expected to be substantial. Barges create wake waves which push
sediment into backwaters and side channels, important nurseries for river
wildlife, and uproot marsh plants, an important food source. These impacts
are important in light of the fact that dams and training structures have
robbed the Mississippi of the ability to replace silt-clogged side channels
during floods. Currently, side channels which fill with silt and sediment
are being lost faster than they can be replaced. Additional barge traffic
will only accelerate the loss of this critical habitat for river wildlife.

               Authorization of seven new locks which are economically
unjustified and whose environmental impacts are unknown sets
a terrible precedent for future water resources planning.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]