MARC
2000 Members Urge President to Support New Locks (2-17-05)
The Midwest
Area River Coalition (MARC 2000), which includes the National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA), recently urged President George W. Bush
to support modernization of the failing locks and dams system on
the Upper Mississippi River System.
In a Feb. 4
letter to the president, the group underscored the perilous state
of infrastructure on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers and
implored Bush to back the Army Corps of Engineers’ recommendation
to modernize at least seven key locks on the system.
“New locks
are crucial to keeping the Mississippi and Illinois rivers working,
and keeping America’s economy moving,” the letter states.
“We strongly encourage you to support congressional action
to modernize our aging and deteriorating infrastructure and initiate
ecosystem restoration.”
Continued failure
to upgrade the system would likely cause a drop in exports, decreased
farm income and lost jobs, the letter says. “Meeting future
international demand for corn, soybean and other grains will be
impossible without a modernized river infrastructure,” the
group said.
Today, more
than 400,000 jobs are tied to river transportation, adding more
than $12 billion to the U.S. economy, MARC 2000 said. Construction
of seven new locks and the ecosystem restoration project would create
at least 48 million man-hours of labor, enhancing the productivity
and profitability of communities throughout the Midwest.
In addition
to the economic stimulus, lock modernization would help displace
traffic from the nation’s overcrowded highways and railways,
according to NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, who also serves at chairman of
MARC 2000’s board of directors.
“Without
a reliable river transportation system, grain producers will be
forced to ship by alternate modes of transportation,” he said.
“That means more trucks and trains will be passing through
our communities on roadways and rails that are already overburdened.
Consider that just one 15-barge tow carries the same amount of freight
as 870 trucks.”
The letter reminds
Bush that state legislators and governors from the five Upper Mississippi
Basin states, as well as thousands of stakeholders in the basin,
have pledged to support lock modernization measures.
To view the
letter, click here.