FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 3, 2004
Contact:  Adrienne Elrod
(202) 225-3772
 

Ross to Testify in House Budget Comm. Re: Ouachita/Black River Navigation System
 
(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Rep. Mike Ross (AR-04) will testify Wednesday in front of the House of Representatives Committee on the Budget regarding the need to restore funding to low-use water systems, particularly the Ouachita/Black River Navigation System. Joining Rep. Ross in testimony will be U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander (LA-05). 

The following is a draft of the testimony Ross will give during today’s hearing. Please note upon the hearing should Ross’s testimony change, an addendum will be released following his testimony.

“I am here today to talk to you about the dire need to adequately fund low-use waterway systems and specifically, the Ouachita/Black River Navigation System.  

“The proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2005 cuts navigational funding for the Ouachita/Black Navigation system by 100%. The only funding the budget allocates for the river is slightly less than $2 million for recreational purposes only.  

“If the funding for the Ouachita/Black River Navigation System proposed in the fiscal year 2005 budget passes, the Corps would not have the resources necessary to maintain the river, locks and dams needed to continue navigation. In other words, the waterway would be forced into a mothball status.

“While there have been no actual studies conducted that estimate the economic and environmental impact shutting down the Ouachita/Black River Navigation system would have on South Arkansas’s economy, there is no question shutting down this waterway would be destructive to our water supplies, navigation systems, recreational facilities, and wildlife refuges.

“This part of my district employs numerous businesses associated with the agriculture and paper industries, oil and gas refineries, and power plants, all of which heavily depend on the waterway to operate. And in fact, many of these companies have spent millions of dollars to expand their businesses, based on the assurance that the navigation system would remain in tact.  

“Case in point is Cross Oil, the main employer of Smackover, Arkansas, population 2,000. Shutting down the river system would dissolve 125 jobs, with an annual payroll of $6 million, and with sales of $100 million.  

“Additionally, if Cross Oil goes out of business, the trickle down effect will be felt by a number of local businesses that depend on the services and products Cross Oil provides -- including transportation companies, construction companies, and engineering firms. 

“The closing down of the waterway would also have a significant environmental impact on roughly 11 counties and parishes in Arkansas and Louisiana. Water sources are affected by the pooling of the locks and dams.  

“This would negatively impact municipal, industrial and agriculture water supplies, which would inevitably harm the health and safety of our communities.  

“Low-use waterways also play a vital role in our economy. Their function can be compared to that of a neighborhood street.  While they naturally carry less traffic than mainstream waterways, they allow commerce to feed on and off the main routes, while providing access to more remote communities and regions.   

“Low-use waterways also significantly reduce high-ton traffic on our roads and highways, lessening the wear and tear and congestion on our roads, which in turn lowers transportation costs. 

“As a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog coalition, I am a strong supporter of maintaining fiscal responsibility within our government. I understand when times are tough, cuts have to be made, some of which we don’t like to make. But colleagues, I urge you to take a hard look and really asses the proposed budget priorities.   

“When nine million Americans are out of work today, does it make sense to slash funding for the Ouachita/Black River  and other low-use waterway systems  to the point that they are inoperable,  thereby destroying hundreds of jobs in Arkansas, Louisiana  and across the country that depend on waterway transportation? 

“The root problem we are facing here is the inadequacy of the Corps Operation and Maintenance Budget.  In fact, the $1.974 million included in the proposed budget for recreation is wasted money without maintenance of the locks and dams.  

“If we restore the funding to approximately $10 million, which is the absolute bare minimum needed to operate the locks and dams, therefore making the waterway navigable, the funding we’ve invested in this region both publicly and privately will be reaped.  If we don’t restore the funding, these investments will be wasted. It’s as simple as that. 

“I urge all of you to please consider what I, and my colleague Rep. Rodney Alexander, have told you today. Shutting down this Ouachita/Black River Navigation System absolutely makes no sense.  

“It would do the very opposite needed to stimulate the economy and get people back on their feet in this country. Jobs would be lost, and people would be out of work. In these already distressed times I can assure you this is not what Arkansas and Louisiana needs to get the economy moving again.  


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