Legislation proposed by Congressman Zach Wamp directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do a report establishing the need to replace Chickamauga Lock passed the House in final form Friday.

The bill, approved by the Senate on Tuesday, now goes to President Clinton to be signed into law.

"Having this report done is a critical step in making sure the river remains open to serve users during the 21st Century," Wamp said. "Getting this provision approved shows that working on a bipartisan basis, we can do important things for the Tennessee Valley."

The language dealing with Chickamauga Lock was contained in The Water Resources Development Act Conference Report. That is the final version of the bill agreed to by both the House and the Senate.

Friday's development was the latest in months of efforts by Congressman Wamp to make sure that that the needed language is passed into law this year.

Replacing the lock remains a top priority for Congressman Wamp.

 "To get a new lock completed before the existing one wears out, we must make sure this study is authorized this year," said Wamp. "By passing this bill out of Congress and sending it to the President, we put ourselves on track to get this done on time. This puts us a big step closer to our long-term goal of replacing the lock."

The study will look at the life expectancy of the lock, the economic feasibility of replacing the lock, including several different lock sizes, and any other options that can be justified. The final version, a Report of the Chief of Engineers, or Chief's Report, will be submitted to Congress with the Corps' official recommendation for the lock's future. This Chief's Report is a critical step in getting authorization to replace the deteriorating lock.

Congressman Wamp has worked closely with both TVA and the Corps to make sure that the necessary steps are in place to have a replacement lock authorized. Several years ago the Corps estimated that with annual repair and maintenance, the lock could remain open until 2010. So far, Congressman Wamp has included $4.2 million in fiscal year 1999, $2.8 million in 2000 to refurbish the lock. The Energy and Water Conference Report passed by Congress also includes $1.9 million for 2001 for annual operations and maintenance work by the Corps.