Durbin: Congress Should Pass Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Mississippi River Navigation and Ecosystem
DURBIN: CONGRESS SHOULD PASS BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE MISSISSIPPI RIVER NAVIGATION AND ECOSYSTEM
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Jim Talent (R-MO), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and representatives from agriculture and labor organizations in calling for the passage of the Water and Resources Development Act (WRDA), which includes Congressional authorization for locks and dam modernization on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
"Passing WRDA will mean over 50,000 new jobs for the region, shorter shipping times, and improved business for Midwest producers along the River," said Durbin. "The Mississippi River transports $12 billion worth of products every year, affecting agriculture, commercial, and labor interests across the state. We must update and modernize the waterway to remain competitive in the years to come."
At a news conference hosted today by The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), the Midwest Area River Coalition and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the bipartisan group of senators urged that the bill be brought to the Senate floor for debate. WRDA authorizes specific projects for navigation, ecosystem restoration, and flood and storm damage reduction.
The most significant provision in the bill would increase lock and dam capacity and improve the ecosystem of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Sixty percent of all U.S. corn exports are shipped to export markets on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, including more than half of Illinois' annual corn crop.
"We applaud Senator Durbin's continued support for modernization of our river transportation system. Our transportation infrastructure on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers is working on borrowed time," said Ken McCauley, NCGA first vice president. "The infrastructure is almost 20 years past its life expectancy. If our trade goals are to be fully realized, we must have a modernized and efficient river transportation infrastructure to secure our global and competitive future."
The legislation would authorize $2.3 billion for replacing and upgrading locks and dams and another $1.58 billion for ecosystem restoration.
Specifically, the bill includes:
# $1.795 billion for the construction of seven new 1,200 foot locks at Locks 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25 on the Upper Mississippi River and at LaGrange Lock and Peoria Lock on the Illinois Waterway.
# $1.58 billion for true ecosystem restoration, allowing the Corps authority to do island building, construction of fish passages, floodplain restoration, water level management, backwater restoration, side channel restoration, wing dam and dike restoration, island and shoreline protection, topographical diversity, use of dredged material for environmental purposes, tributary confluence restoration, land easement authority, and land acquisition.
# $235 million for small-scale and non-structural improvements such as traffic management and boats that push the barges through locks faster.
On February 16, Durbin joined a group of 80 senators, from both political parties, in sending a letter to the Senate's leaders, asking for floor time to debate WRDA. The House version of WRDA passed, by a 406-14 margin, in July of last year.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=255027&&