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St. Louis Post-Dispatch / Saturday, April 22, 2000
Opinion Page
COUNTERPOINT : Locks and dams help barge lines, not farmers and not the
rivers
By Dean Rebuffoni
(Responding to the Brescia article which follows this one)
----------------------------
Dean Rebuffoni, Minneapolis, is Midwest regional representative of the
Mississippi River Protection Program of the Sierra Club.
---------------------------
IN his April 12 Commentary ("Modernizing river transportation is good for
environment, economy"), Christopher J. Brescia argues that the federal
government should spend $1.5 billion to bloat one of the nation's most
egregious examples of corporate welfare: the locks and dams on the
Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
Brescia works for the St. Louis-based Midwest Area River Coalition 2000, a
propaganda and lobbying front for the barge industry. The $1.5 billion
would
be spent by the Army Corps of Engineers to expand or replace seven of the
37
navigation locks on the two rivers, allowing barge traffic to increase and
move faster.
If we don't spend the money, Brescia claims, the United States will lose
its
grain-export markets to foreign competition. And that, he claims, will mean
"another nail in the coffin of our farmers."
Baloney. Spending $1.5 billion to move grain-laden barges more quickly
would
produce little, if any, financial benefit to Midwest farmers.
Who would really benefit if locks are rebuilt to move barges faster?
Clearly, the owners of the barges and the towboats that push them: their
operating costs would be cut. And who owns the barges and towboats? Well,
it's not Midwest farm families.
Rather, it's some of the nation's largest corporations. It's Archer Daniels
Midland Co., whose subsidiary, AFTCO, operates 2,000 barges. It's ConAgra
Corp., whose subsidiary, Peavey Barge Lines, has 1,500 barges. It's
American
Commercial Barge Lines, which has 3,700 barges. ACBL is a subsidiary of
Citibank, the global banking powerhouse and itself part of Citigroup, one
of
the world's largest financial institutions.
It's also Cargill Inc., the largest privately held company in the world,
the
world's largest grain merchant, and owner of more than 1,000 barges
operated
by a subsidiary, Cargo Carriers.
These corporations pay none of the cost of operating and maintaining the
locks and dams and other features of the inland waterway system. That
cost -- roughly $700 million a year -- is borne entirely by U.S.
taxpayers.
That subsidizes the barge owners, allowing them to cut their costs to ship
grain.
Brescia also argued that we need to expand the locks because our farmers
face growing competition in the international grain market.
It's true that South American nations, especially, have greatly increased
their grain production and will continue to expand. Does that concern the
corporate grain shippers? You bet. And they're betting on increased
production from South America.
Cargill has operations in 72 nations, and about 40 percent of its net worth
is outside the United States. Cargill has become the largest exporter of
corn, soybeans and other commodity goods for Argentina. Cargill and ADM are
the second and third largest processors of soybeans in Brazil.
So when you hear that these corporations are concerned about American
farmers, remember that they're concerned about farmers in North America and
South America. Our farmers compete with Brazilian and Argentine farmers,
but
the real winners are the corporations that buy and ship grain at the lowest
possible price.
If these corporations can save money -- thanks to U.S. taxpayers -- by
moving grain faster on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, what compels
them to share savings with farmers? Nothing.
The locks and dams and barge traffic have badly damaged the ecology of the
Mississippi and the Illinois. More barge traffic will mean more damage.
Conservationists want the rivers managed not just for the barge industry,
but as priceless environmental and recreational resources by all Americans.
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch
April 12, 2000
COMMENTARY : Modernizing river transportation is good for environment,
economy
By Christopher J. Brescia
LOCKS AND DAMS
A thundering attack on the nation's navigable waterways recently roared
downstream like a Mississippi flood. The attack questioned the wisdom of
expanding our locks and dams to meet the needs of the 21st century. It
basically said everything we've spent on the rivers to build industry is
just federal waste. Extremists want to reduce the importance of the
Mississippi as the conduit for more than 300 million tons of the nation's
cargo. This system supports more than 400,000 jobs, including 90,000 in
manufacturing, and is the avenue for more than 60 percent of U.S. grain
exports.
That river infrastructure -- built first in the 1930s to move 2 million
tons
of waterway traffic -- came close to bursting to accommodate more than 120
million tons in the '90s. With rapid growth in markets, how can a
70-year-old system possibly allow us to compete in the 21st century?
Never mind this investment has returned $6 in benefits for every $1
invested
by this nation. Never mind the lock-and-dam system on the Upper Mississippi
has fostered a recreational mecca. Never mind that cities, like St. Louis,
Quincy, Hannibal and Davenport and on up to St. Paul, have reliable water
supplies. Organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the
Sierra Club would prefer that instead of capitalizing on these assets we
move our products by some alternative means.
Our river system moves grain, soybeans, rock, cement, coal, steel and
petroleum without affecting the daily lives of our citizens and
communities,
and in a more fuel-efficient fashion on the Mississippi River. Without the
Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers navigation system, we would be paying
more for such things as gasoline, utilities and construction materials. And
we would be removing a competitive edge for grain exports.
Without modernization of the lock and dam system, the United States will
not
be able to compete in anticipated world grain export growth. Imagine moving
an anticipated growth of at least 60 million to 80 million tons via other
modes: How would we wrestle with an additional 3 million trucks moving
through St. Louis or as many as 1 million rail cars? Both would be
necessary
without river transportation. Then add in higher in air emissions, fuel
consumption and accident rates. And this assumes the capacity is even
available. And the cost? Think about how many gallons of fuel we would
need.
And yet the environmentalists carp about effects. More than $26 million has
been spent over the past seven years for biological studies on the impact
of
barge traffic on the river system. Current scientific evidence suggests
that
the impact of increased traffic is negligible. The scientific evidence does
not support "the sky is falling" theory for replacing locks 600 feet long
with locks 1,200 feet long.
Making the transportation system on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois
rivers more efficient is the most environmentally smart action to take.
Today tows 1,100 feet long wait in line churning water and expending fuel
while they disassemble half their 15-barge load to fit through an
antiquated lock.
Because of the Upper Mississippi lock and dam system, our nation and region
save over $1.5 billion in higher transportation costs a year. That income
stays in the pockets of our producers in the region and flows through to
consumers. So where's the beef when Congress is asked to expend $1.5
billion
over 10 years to keep from losing those benefits -- especially when fuel
taxes have been collected since 1986 to pay for half of these costs? You
can't even put together a small stretch of freeway for the $75 million the
navigation improvements would cost a year.
While extreme activists are playing politics by searching to discredit the
success of the inland navigation system by portraying it as federal waste
leading to environmental degradation, we are losing our export markets to
global competition. And that means another nail in the coffin of our
farmers.
If we are for clean air, clean water, safer roads, far fewer fatalities,
reliable water supplies, a stronger regional economic base and a good
return
on investment for our tax dollars, we should urge Congress to support a
modernized inland waterway system in the Upper Mississippi basin.
Christopher J. Brescia is president of the Midwest Area River Coalition
2000, a St. Louis-based regional organization of agricultural and
industrial
producers, grain processors, waterway transportation companies allied with
labor leaders and other economic development constituents.
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