FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From:
American Rivers * Environmental Defense
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Illinois Stewardship Alliance * Mississippi River Basin Alliance
National Audubon Society * Sierra Club
January 29, 2004
Environmental Groups Oppose Lock Expansion
for Mississippi and Illinois rivers, Support Congestion Relief, Restoration
Environmental groups today opposed immediate authorization of longer locks
on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and instead called on the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to complete a credible economic analysis of the need
for the $2.3 billion lock expansion project.
American Rivers, Environmental Defense, Illinois Stewardship Alliance,
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mississippi Basin Alliance, the
National Audubon Society, and Sierra Club today supported a proposal by the
Corps to immediately implement some small-scale congestion management
measures at locks. And, the groups called a $5.3 billion restoration plan "a
significant down payment."
But the groups opposed Corps proposals to authorize lock expansion, subject
to future studies and reports by the Corps. The groups urged the Corps to
develop better economic tools before the agency decides whether to ask
Congress to spend as much as $2.3 billion on longer locks.
"Two panels from the National Academy of Sciences have concluded that the
Corps is using economic tools like unrealistic traffic forecasts that
produce the wrong results." said Scott Faber, Environmental Defense Water
Resources Specialist. "We should not use fuzzy math to decide the future of
a river as important to the nation as the Mississippi. Even the Corps' fuzzy
math shows that locks are not justified under most scenarios of future
traffic."
River traffic has not increased in more than two decades, but the Corps
today proposed a wide range of lock expansion alternatives, including
immediate construction of 7 new locks and the extension of five existing
locks.
"There is clear scientific evidence that the river needs to be restored, but
there is no evidence that the river needs longer locks," said Melissa Samet,
Senior Director of Water Resources for American Rivers. "Any Corps request
for Congress to authorize lock expansion without such evidence is
unacceptable."
The Corps also today proposed to immediately deploy helper boats at some
locks to help reduce a 90-minute lockage by 20 minutes or more. But, the
Corps does not plan to immediately implement other congestion management
measures like scheduling or incentives for better deck crew training and
equipment.
"Small-scale measures can bring immediate relief to river users facing
delays at a fraction of the cost of longer locks. By contrast, longer locks
can't be built for more than a decade," said Mark Beorkrem, Executive
Director of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. "We should reduce delays now
by immediately implementing small-scale measures and should take a few more
months to fairly evaluate whether we need spend $2.3 billion on longer
locks."
The groups called a Corps proposal to spend $5.3 billion on habitat
restoration a "significant down payment" towards restoration of a healthy
river, but urged the Corps to develop a more detailed, long-term restoration
plan. The Corps plans to immediately ask Congress for $1 billion to focus on
restoration investments that could be made in the next ten years.
"We should be restoring, not destroying, this great natural treasure," said
Angela Anderson, Upper Basin Program Director for the Mississippi River
Basin Alliance. "A healthy river supports thousands of jobs in riverside
communities. We're encouraged that the Corps recognizes that the needs of
the living river are as important as the needs of the working river."
"We can't reverse all of the damage that's been done to the river over the
past 150 years in ten years, but it makes sense to set some priorities,"
said Dan McGuiness, Director of the Upper Mississippi River Campaign of the
National Audubon Society. "We can do a great deal to reverse the decline of
the river in the next ten years. But, the Corps needs to quickly complete
work on a detailed, long-term restoration plan so that we're better able set
priorities."
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Conservation letter on navigation study:
http://www.amrivers.org/docs/Letter_OMB-CEQ_Navigation_Study.pdf
Facts about alternatives to longer locks:
http://www.amrivers.org/docs/FactSheetLongerLocks.doc
Technology we have vs. Money we don't: http://www.iatp.org/enviroag/
For further information contact:
Melissa Samet, American Rivers, 415-482-8150;
Dan McGuiness, Audubon, 651-290-1695;
Scott Faber, ED, 202-387-3500 x3315
Mark Muller, IATP, 612-870-3420;
Mark Beorkrem, ISA, 217-299-0217;
Angela Anderson, MRBA, 314-776-6672 x102;
Bill Redding, Sierra Club, 608-257-4994
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