Alton Telegraph-Herald 08-05-02 Barge industry calls for river navigation improvements August 05, 2002 By STEVE WHITWORTH Telegraph city editor Advocates of the nation's barge industry hope the release of an interim report on a long-awaited study of navigation issues on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers will prompt Congress to pass legislation to modernize the system of locks and dams on those rivers. Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the interim report on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study. The final version of the study itself is scheduled for completion in 2004. Even so, officials of the barge industry and their supporters are trying to use the interim report to garner support for their push to begin improvements to locks and dams on the two great rivers, even before the final version of the full study is released. "It's time to promote responsible economic development, promote the advancement of the least environmentally intrusive mode of transporting commodities," said Don Huffman of MEMCO Barge Lines, based in Chesterfield, Mo. "And with a lot of pre-construction work ahead, it just makes sense to begin this process now, instead of waiting until 2004. Otherwise, we are really jeopardizing the economy of the Midwest at a time when we should be promoting a system that has proven itself to work." Barge industry leaders say they hope the release of the interim report will prompt federal lawmakers to pass the Water Resources Development Act legislation later this fall. The navigation advocates point out that 25 congressional representatives and six senators from the basin states signed letters earlier this summer supporting the authorization of pre-construction design and engineering planning for the project, which is expected to take 10 to 15 years to complete after authorization. The Illinois General Assembly also has passed a resolution supporting immediate action toward lock modernization, as have the state legislatures in Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nevertheless, the authors of the interim report clearly state that it "is not a decision document. "The full economic and environmental evaluations necessary to support a potential recommendation for construction of navigation improvements and implementation of ecosystem restoration measures will be contained in the final feasibility report, scheduled for completion in 2004," the interim report's executive summary says. Although the corps traditionally has supported projects intended to facilitate river navigation and to improve aging locks and dams, the UMR-IWW System Navigation Study has been mired in controversy. Environmentalists have questioned the integrity and impartiality of the study, and a longtime corps employee who works in the St. Louis District filed a whistleblower action in 2000 that resulted in the study being halted in March 2001 by order of Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, chief of engineers for the corps. Flowers and other top corps and Army officials ordered the resumption of the Navigation Study on Aug. 2, 2001. They have said the study would refocus on environmentally sustainable development of the river system. The executive summary of the interim report opens with an assertion that environmental concerns will be given full consideration in the drafting of the Navigation Study. "The Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study has been restructured to give equal consideration to fish and wildlife resources and navigation improvement planning consistent with recommendations from the National Research Council and the Federal Principals Group," the executive summary says. According to the executive summary, sustainability is defined as "the balance of economic, ecological and social conditions so as to meet the current, projected and future needs of the Upper Mississippi River System without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." The report outlines those navigation improvement and ecosystem restoration measures that will be carried forward for evaluation. In terms of navigation improvement, the structural measures include guidewall extension, lock extensions and new locks. "Ecosystem restoration measures include those beneficial adjustments to system operation and maintenance, ecosystem restoration opportunities and environmental enhancement opportunities related to the navigation system," the executive summary says. "Examples of these measures include traffic impact prevention and reduction; channel modifications; systemic fish passage and water level management; backwater, secondary channel and island rehabilitation." The UMR-IWW System Navigation Study began as a multi-year study to investigate the feasibility of navigation improvements on the rivers over a 50-year planning period. The study area includes 854 miles of the Upper Mississippi, with 29 locks and dams, between Minneapolis-St. Paul and the mouth of the Ohio River, as well as 348 miles of the Illinois Waterway, with eight locks and dams, that connect the city of Chicago and the Great Lakes with the Mississippi just upstream of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam 26 at Alton. Navigation industry leaders have argued that many locks and dams built in the 1930s were designed to accommodate 600-foot-long tows. Modern tows routinely approach 1,100 feet in length, making it necessary for them to be broken into two sections in order to pass through the 600-foot locks. That causes delays in transportation time, the barge industry advocates argue, resulting in higher costs. The industry wants more 1,200-foot locks, such as the main lock at Alton, which also has a 600-foot lock. "After $26 million invested in this study for environmental restoration needs alone, we can finally start moving toward making a healthier, more efficient river system," said Looman Stingo, chairman of the Midwest Area River Coalition 2000, a group made up largely of barge industry interests. "Along with $76 million more for a monitoring system under the Environmental Management Program and the work toward the Habitat Needs Assessment that has been identified, it's clear that it's time to stop talking about ecosystem enhancement and actually begin working toward a better river for everyone. It's time for action." Other advocates of lock modernization say it would boost the region's economy. Terry Nelson, executive secretary-treasurer of the Carpenters' District Council of Greater St. Louis and Vicinity, said the project would create 3,000 to 6,000 jobs in the region each year. "The process of modernizing our locks will boost the economy in our area, and the result from the project will finally get the Midwest prepared for the transportation needs for the 21st century," Nelson said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]