House approves new river locks
Friday, July 15, 2005
Printable FormatBy Doug Wilson
Quincy Herald-Whig
WASHINGTON - Members of the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a $3.6 billion lock and dam improvement project Thursday to ease shipping on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The measure now goes to the Senate.
"The improvement of our waterways infrastructure is long overdue. We're falling behind our competitors in the global marketplace," said Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Columbia, Mo.
Barge operators and farmers say the Mississippi is the cheapest route for shipping corn, soybeans, coal, chemicals and construction materials. Opponents argued that grain exports probably won't increase enough to economically justify the lock overhaul plan.
House members voted 406-14 in to authorize $10 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects nationwide over the next 15 years.
"If a project is broke, it's time to fix it," Hulshof said. "You don't wait to see if it gets better. Traffic has been increasing on the inland waterways system everywhere except in the upper Mississippi because of the declining condition of these locks and dams."
"We do not need another study, we do not need further delay," agreed Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill.
Senate consideration of an $11.7 billion version is expected later this summer.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., sent a letter to the senate leadership asking for a vote on the Water Resources Development Act of 2005 (WRDA) by the end of July. Obama said the lock upgrade will "create jobs, help our farmers move goods down the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and restore the environment."
The lock improvements will create new 1,200-foot lock chambers. The existing 600-foot chambers, dating to the 1930s, will be retained as backups.
The 1,200-foot locks are important because they will allow most barge tows to lock through in a single procedure. Under the current 600-foot locks, most tows must be "broken down" into two 600-foot segments and then reattached before the barge continues on its journey.
David McMurray, chairman of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association, said the House vote is encouraging.
"We are delighted with this significant step forward in the effort to secure new locks," McMurray said.
Rep. Lane Evans, D-Rock Island, Ill., said the WRDA legislation is overdue.
"Farmers in Brazil, China and other competing nations have had the advantage of government investment in the infrastructure used to ship their goods. We must invest in expanding our locks so that our farmers can compete," Evans said.
Before the vote, the White House urged the House to approve the lock overhaul project only if states share half the costs, as with the 30-year, $8.4 billion Florida Everglades restoration effort.
The House bill authorizes spending $1.8 billion to replace older locks that can slow some barges by up to two hours, $1.58 billion for ecosystem restoration and $235 million to improve several upstream locks.
Other major projects include $1 billion in coastal Louisiana projects mainly aimed at slowing erosion, $605 million for the Everglades and $512 million to fix Gulf of Mexico hurricane and storm damage.