NCGA Encourages Growers to Voice Support for Navigation Improvements As Public Comment Deadline Nears
(7-20-04)
Members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) came out in full force to show support for lock modernization during the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ public hearings on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Waterway System Navigation Feasibility Study in June. However, the campaign for modern waterways infrastructure is far from over.
NCGA has issued a legislative action alert, urging growers to voice their support for new locks and their concerns on funding specifications of the Corps’ preferred alternative. The public comment period ends July 30.
Over the past two months, there has been a flurry of activity and significant progress on lock modernization. In early June, a bipartisan group of eight senators introduced S. 2470, a bill that would authorize immediate construction of seven new locks on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Just a week later, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that includes lock modernization measures. And in early July, Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) and 17 other representatives introduced a House locks bill, H.R. 4785.
“These recent legislative actions are cause for optimism among farmers who use the river system to transport their products,” said Betsy Croker, NCGA director of public policy. “However, we need our growers to write to the Corps of Engineers now to ensure that the written record reflects the oral statements of the growers concerns. We can’t afford to back down now – growers need to continue to tell the Corps and their lawmakers how important this issue is.”
Among other important points, the action alert notes that funding and management of the navigation and ecosystem restoration projects needs to be kept separate.
To send comments to the Corps of Engineers, click here: http://capwiz.com/ncga/issues/alert/?alertid=6143831&type=CU.