This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 7, 2012 - WASHINGTON – Expedited dredging, blasting and other steps – combined with more favorable rain forecasts – now appear likely to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain barge traffic on the Mississippi without extra water from the Missouri River.
That’s the word from Jo-Ellen Darcy, the U.S. Army assistant secretary who supervises the Corps, in a letter to U.S. senators from Illinois, Missouri and other states along the Mississippi who had asked for higher water releases from the giant reservoirs along the upper Missouri – a step strongly opposed by lawmakers from that basin.
The Mississippi-River state lawmakers, including senators from Missouri and Illinois, remain skeptical, and said Friday that they would continue to press the Corps to do everything possible to maintain navigation on the great river, a major avenue for commerce.
"We must do everything we can to reduce the likelihood of serious disruption to traffic along the river,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“At our request, the Corps has expedited the process of removing rock pinnacles to improve navigation. The next step is for the Corps to brief industry leaders and local stakeholders” in a meeting that Durbin says will be convened soon.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said that lawmakers will “hold [the Corps] accountable” to the river navigation prediction.
"Missouri businesses and jobs depend on our ability to continue commercial navigation along the Mississippi -- and the dropping water level can't be ignored,” McCaskill said in a statement Friday.
“The Army Corps is now saying that we can continue navigation without increased flows from the Missouri, and we should hold them accountable if that prediction doesn't pan out.”
Like Durbin, McCaskill said she planned “to keep getting input from all stakeholders on this issue and will continue working to ensure that Missouri's economy isn't damaged in the coming weeks and months."
In the letter sent this week to senators who had asked for action from the Corps, Darcy wrote that “the limited Missouri River flows currently authorized are expected to be sufficient to sustain navigation on the middle Mississippi River without additional releases from the Missouri River” reservoirs.
The waterways industry and other businesses had warned that navigation on the middle Mississippi – which stretches from St. Louis to Cairo, Ill. – could stop later this month if the river levels continued to fall. If that happens, it could impede billions of dollars worth of coal, grain and other cargoes.
But a revised Mississippi River forecast, released Thursday, predicted that the river levels would not dip to the 9-foot level – the minimum required for commercial navigation – until Dec. 29, a couple of weeks later than originally had been projected
Pointing out that the National Weather Service is now predicting a bit more rain, Darcy wrote to the senators that current predictions are that barge traffic can be maintained, “based on that rain forecast and the combination of rock pinnacle removal, dredging, Upper Mississippi River releases” and the bare-minimum water releases now authorized from the Missouri River reservoirs.
Darcy contended that the Corps “lacks authority” to increase the Missouri water releases and outlined reasons why draining more water from the upper Missouri reservoirs would likely cause “significant negative effects” in the drought-stricken region – including a negative impact on water supply, hydropower, irrigation, recreation and wildlife.
Durbin said the planned meeting of river stakeholders – which does not yet have a date or place – would including U.S. senators from states bordering the Mississippi River, state and local officials and representatives from industries such as agriculture and shipping. The would be briefed by Corps officials on ways to maintain Mississippi navigation without having to release additional water from the Missouri River.
In her letter, Darcy said the Corps expects the removal of rock pinnacles under the Mississippi’s waters near Thebes and Grand Tower, Ill, will begin this month. “The Corps held an onsite meeting with prospective contractors on Dec. 4 and expects that the contractors will begin removing rock as early as possible in December.”
Also, Darcy wrote, the Corps “has begun mobilizing dredges to remove approximately 21 sediment shoals in the middle Mississippi River.”
Earlier this month, Durbin and McCaskill had joined U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and nine other senators from Mississippi River states in sending a letter to Darcy, asking for action to prevent the reductions in water releases from the Missouri River reservoirs.
Warning of a potential low-water “crisis” in river navigation, the senators wrote: “The Mississippi River is vital to commerce for agriculture and many other goods, including our ability to export our goods. If the river channel is not maintained, there will be a loss of jobs, income to many businesses and farmers, and an adverse impact to the economy of the region as a whole.”
Sixty-two members of the U.S. House have signed a similar letter to the Corps.