Mason City Globe Gazette, IA
10-29-07
Congress proposes $3.7 billion to upgrade Mississippi’s locks
By MATTHEW WILDE, For The Globe Gazette
Congress says it’s time to give the upper Mississippi River a face-lift.
Lawmakers recently passed the Water Resources Development Act that would,
among other things, authorize $3.7 billion to double the size of seven locks and
improve the river’s ecosystem.
The river is a vital link in the food chain and Iowa’s economy, bill supporters say.
Fixing its nearly 90-year-old crumbling infrastructure means billions of dollars
worth of grain, fertilizer, coal, road salt, building materials and other goods can
be shipped more efficiently.
That means more money in the pockets of Iowans and a better quality of life,
supporter say.
“It’s a very important bill because it contains critical funding to modernize our
aging system of locks and dams along the Mississippi River to bring them up to
21st century standards,” said Rep. Bruce Braley of Waterloo. “And that’s going to
be very important to the Iowa economy.”
Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation expect the legislation to land on
President Bush’s desk in the next week. The administration has indicated Bush
plans to veto the $23.3 billion bill for water restoration projects nationwide, calling
it a budget buster.
However, due to bi-partisan support for the legislation — 81 votes in the Senate
and 381 votes in the House — Braley expects Congress will override the veto
shortly after the president officially stamps his disapproval. A two-thirds majority
is needed.
Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, who sides with Bush on many issues,
said farmers rely on the river the most to get corn and soybeans to foreign
buyers, but the aging locks — most are 600 feet long — are too small to
accommodate modern 1,100-foot tows.
“We have found ourselves falling further and further behind, so these
infrastructure improvements are needed to remain competitive in the world ag
economy,” Grassley said.
Iowa’s senior senator said the president thinks the Mississippi upgrades are
needed, but other parts of the 434-page bill are getting in the way.
An administration policy statement concerning the bill says there’s too much
“wasteful spending” and the bill fails to ensure projects yield high economic and
environmental returns, among other things. Some conservation and taxpayer
watch-dog groups agree.
“In a time when fiscal restraint is much needed, the additional spending
authorized in this bill, such as provisions for local wastewater and drinking water
infrastructure projects (hundreds of millions of dollars), is unacceptable,”
according to a White House statement.
Braley, a first-term Democrat, doesn’t buy it. He thinks politics are getting in the
way of a bill that will help Iowans and the environment.
The president OK’d plenty of large spending bills when the Republicans were in
control of Congress, Braley said.
“Now he’s apparently found religion on fiscal conservatism,” he said.
HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF THE LOCKS AND DAMS
The 27 locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River — a 858-mile stretch from
Minneapolis to the junction with the Ohio River south of St. Louis — were
primarily constructed in the 1930s and ’40s. At the time, Congress viewed the
Mississippi as an untapped resource and wanted to make it a viable
transportation artery.
Commerce was happening on the river, just not in large quantities. Traffic was
often at a standstill, even in the summer, due to low flow. At times people could
walk across it from Iowa to Illinois.
To solve the problem, dams were built to hold back water to create a navigable
channel for boats and barges. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which
maintains the river and operates the locks, still needs to continually dredge the
waterway to maintain a minimum 9-foot channel for barge traffic.
Locks allow barges and boats to step up or down from one water level to
another. River traffic enters a concrete chamber, water is pumped in or out to
match the level of the water the vessels will sail on next, and the boats exit.
The 600-foot locks require modern 15-barge tows to double lock, or be split in
two so each half can pass through. That takes about 2 hours instead of the 30
minutes it would take if tows could pass through in one piece.
To alleviate downtime and congestion, the bill authorize five new 1,200-foot locks
be built between Keokuk and St. Louis on the Mississippi River and two on the
Illinois River. Corps officials said the amount of tonnage moved in these areas
warrant an expansion, but none to the north at this time.
“Nobody knew how much shipping would we would have today,” said Ron
Fournier, Corps spokesman for the Rock Island district, which oversees the river
from Guttenburg to Saverton, Mo.
Corps statistics show 2.3 million tons of cargo was shipped in the Rock Island
district in 1948. By 2005, 27.4 million tons moved.
Millions of dollars worth of upgrades and new construction has been done on the
system since it was built, but Fournier said a lot more work is needed.
He said it’s not uncommon to see concrete falling off and electrical systems
going bad. For example, the hinges on Lock and Dam 15’s auxiliary lock doors
are so bad it’s been shut down for three years for fear the doors might fall off, he
said.
Paul Rohde, vice president of the Waterways Council Inc., an advocacy group for
inland waterways improvements, said, “We’re living on borrowed time. They’re
(locks) more than 80 years old for crying out loud ... it’s amazing they’re still
performing admirably. The Corps is just trying to keep them operational.”
Importance to Iowa
Farmers and urban residents depend on the river to transport all kinds of goods
to and from the state.
While barge industry officials say the Mississippi is the most efficient way to haul
goods — the average 15-barge tow can haul the same amount as 225 rail cars
and 900 semi trucks — lock expansion will make it better. And increased
efficiency, industry officials say, means lower shipping costs and more money for
end users.
Larry Daily, president of Alter Barge Line Inc. of Bettendorf, has been pushing for
river upgrades for 16 years. He doesn’t deny that new locks will help the
profitability of his businesses, but they will also help his customers.
Daily said the revenue forfeited by Iowa corn growers alone last year due to
shipping delays is staggering. At a minimum, he said, his boats waste 40 hours
double locking and many more waiting at a lock during a round trip voyage on the
upper Mississippi. That means extra wages, fuel, wear and tear on equipment,
etc.
Shipping expenses directly reflect what commodities are worth or cost. For
example, transportation on the Mississippi costs about 15 cents a bushel more
than on the Ohio River, where there are 1,200-foot locks throughout.
That’s 15 cents per bushel that didn’t go into farmers’ pockets, Daily said.
Last year, the Iowa Corn Growers Association estimated 875 million bushels of
corn left the state destined for international markets. The figures show Iowa
farmers may have lost at least $15 million last year and possibly more than $30
million through higher shipping costs. It adds up year after year, officials said.
DECLINING NEED DUE TO ETHANOL?
Last year, Iowa’s leading grain economist, Bob Wisner from Iowa State
University, speculated that the burgeoning ethanol industry could turn Iowa into
a net importer of corn. Iowa’s soybean acres also dropped by 13 percent this
year.
Bill opponents wonder why spend billions on the river if the two commodities
representing the lion’s share of barge freight from Iowa will decrease or become
nonexistent?
“The growth of biofuels means less grain going down the river,” said Jeff Ruch,
executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Proponents dismiss this argument, saying that doesn’t change the fact river
upgrades are needed. Reports also indicate ethanol expansion has slowed.
Even if grain exports diminish — which doesn’t appear to be the case as
commodity groups report record commitments this year — barge officials expect
to be hauling more dried distillers grains, a byproduct of the ethanol process, and
ethanol itself.
Tim Burrack, who farms near Arlington, has been fighting for river upgrades for
almost two decades as part of the National Corn Growers Association.
He said 50 percent of fertilizer used to grow crops comes to Iowa via barge,
along with a good amount of steel, cement and salt used to keeps roads clear of
ice. Ten percent of the electricity produced in the nation comes from coal shipped
on barges.
“If you live in the Midwest, you’re impacted by the river in some way or form,”
Burrack said.
OPPOSITION TO THE BILL
Despite claims by the barge industry that using inland waterways add $5 billion a
year to the U.S. economy, anad reduced road congestion and air pollution, the
bill detractors say it’s nothing more the pork-barrel spending.
The Bush Administration says Congress overspent by at least $8 billion.
The conservation-based Sierra Club thinks new construction and adding traffic
on the river will only hurt the environment despite a section in the bill to spend
$1.7 billion to improve the river’s ecosystem.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility believes declining river traffic
just doesn’t warrant a major expansion project, just needed repairs.
In a document e-mailed to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier by White House
officials this week, the administration voiced its dismay that the compromise
version of the water resource bill was significantly higher than either of the
versions originally passed by the House and Senate. They were $15 billion and
$14 billion, respectively.
Tax dollars, though, will only pay a portion of the project on the upper Mississippi
River. According to the bill, half of the $2 billion authorized to build new locks and
other infrastructure will come from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which was
created by extra diesel fuel taxes paid by barge and tugboat companies.
The federal government is slated to pay 65 percent to 100 percent of the
environmental improvements, which is authorized at $1.7 billion.
Ed Hopkins, director the Sierra Club’s environmental quality program, thinks the
bill overall will do more harm than good.
“We do support environmental restoration projects, but not the expansion of
(locks),” Hopkins said. “The real issue is if there’s a need for new projects or the
existing infrastructure is there to meet the demand.”
PEER contends Mississippi River barge traffic is on a 17-year decline through
the first half of 2007 and throwing tax dollars at the river is a waste.
“It’s a (multi) billion dollar absurdity,” Ruch said. “If the barge industry and ag
groups think it’s so important, they are free to pay for it themselves.”
THE FUTURE
Even if lawmakers override the president’s threatened veto, there’s still no
guarantee the bill will be funded as proposed. Money still needs to be
appropriated by Congress each year.
Time is also an obstacle. River officials said it will take at least 20 years to build
the new locks, if the project is properly funded.
Daily is confident Congress will do its part, though he says the bill isn’t perfect
because at this time lock expansions are only planned south of Iowa between
Keokuk and St. Louis, and the Illinois River.
That doesn’t mean Iowa’s section of the river won’t benefit from the bill. Freight
leaving Iowa will eventually pass through the new locks, improving shipping
efficiency, which should lower barge rates, he said.
“It’s the best we got. The next fight is over money,” Daily said. “We’re bullish
enough to buy 50 new barges worth $23 million.”
Matthew Wilde is a reporter for the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, which like the
Globe Gazette is a Lee Enterprises newspaper. Reach him at 319-291-1579 or
matt.wilde@wcfcourier.com.