NCGA
Welcomes Corps Plan for River Improvements (5-7-04)
The National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA) today applauded the release of an Army Corps of Engineers’ draft proposal outlining the agency’s
plans to improve navigation infrastructure on the upper Mississippi and Illinois
rivers. After a public comment period, the Corps’ recommendation will
be finalized and submitted to Congress.
The 656-page draft plan recommends construction of seven new 1,200-foot locks
and the eventual expansion of five 600-foot locks to 1,200 feet. Other navigation
efficiency measures, including construction of mooring facilities at seven
locks and implementation of switchboats at locks 20-25 on the Upper Mississippi,
are also recommended in the report. Additionally, the plan calls for $5.4 billion
in ecosystem restoration.
“We enthusiastically welcome this proposed plan and commend the Corps
for recognizing the need to improve our aging transportation system,” said
NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, who also serves as chairman of the Midwest Area River
Coalition 2000. “Corn growers need efficient transportation networks
to get their crops to export markets, and competition among the different modes
of transportation helps farmers get the best prices. And even though not all
corn growers ship grain on the Mississippi River, all growers are impacted
by the freight rate increases caused by an inefficient system.”
Pending approval by Congress and
the administration, pre-construction engineering and design work will begin
for new 1,200-foot locks at the current sites of
locks 20-25 on the Upper Mississippi, and at Lagrange and Peoria on the Illinois.
Illinois farmer Ron Fitchhorn, chairman of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship
Action Team, said NCGA and its coalition partners are urging lawmakers to pass
a Water Resources Development Act that authorizes the Corps’ recommendation.
“It’s up to our elected officials now,” Fitchhorn said. “We’re
asking them to move this program forward quickly. We’ve been working
toward this for a long time, and now we finally have an opportunity for stakeholders
to come together with lawmakers to close the deal. We all need to let our congressmen
and senators know it’s time for action.”
The Corps has scheduled a series of public meetings to discuss the draft plan.
Meetings are scheduled for the following dates and locations, with specific
times and sites to be released at a later date:
•
June 7 – Davenport, Iowa
•
June 8 – Dubuque, Iowa
•
June 9 – La Crosse, Wis.
•
June 10 – Bloomington, Minn.
•
June 14 – Peoria, Ill.
•
June 15 – Quincy, Ill.
•
June 16 – St. Louis, Mo.
•
June 17 – Washington, D.C.
The Chief of Engineers Report containing final recommendations will be prepared
this fall and sent to the administration and Congress. All public comments
will be reflected in the final report.
The draft Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System Navigation Feasibility
Study and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement report is available at
http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/umr-iwwsns/documents/Main_report_6may.pdf.