WRRDA Conference Report

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak in support of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, also known as the WRRDA bill.

I thank Senator Vitter for his work on this bill. Of course, I also thank Chairman Boxer for her leadership in shepherding this bill through, when I think many people thought it would be a very difficult year to get a major infrastructure bill done. She was able to do it, work with Senator Vitter, work with the House most significantly, and we are very pleased with this bill.

I support this legislation because it will keep invasive carp out of Minnesota's northern lakes. It will help towns across the country advance critical flood protection projects. It will address overdue port and harbor maintenance on the Great Lakes. It will also ensure that navigation will remain strong on the inland waterways system, including the powerful and important Mississippi River, which of course starts in my State in Itasca State Park, where one can literally walk over the mighty Mississippi.

Minnesota's fishing and boating industries contribute around $4 billion to our State's economy every single year. For Minnesotans, being on the water is more than just a way of life. It is also part of our State's culture, part of our heritage, and it is certainly part of our economic engine, but that way of life is under threat right now because of invasive species of carp, also called Asian carp. They were imported and accidentally released into the Mississippi River years ago. How I would love to reverse that moment when they were accidentally released in the Southern States into the Mississippi River, but it happened, and years later we are still stuck with the consequences.

Anyone who has not seen the YouTube video, I would suggest you view it--of these Asian carp literally jumping out of the water, hitting fishermen in the head because they eat so much every single day, and of course they are eating the fish we have come to rely on in our State for great food and also great recreation.

As these invasive carp have worked their way farther upstream, we have learned they are not deterred by cold winters, which was once thought to be the case. Today invasive species of carp are knocking on our doorstep. They have been found around Winona, MN, and they are already in the St. Croix River.

Minnesotans know we cannot simply wish the problem away. The problem is literally swimming and jumping into our lives. That is why I authored the Upper Mississippi CARP Act, which would close the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in Minneapolis. My lock closure provision included in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act conference report will simply require the Army Corps of Engineers to close the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock within 1 year following the date of enactment.

The language is a product of years of working with State and local stakeholders, and today, with the passage of this provision, we will take a significant step forward in the fight against invasive species to make sure they do not move up into Minnesota's northern lakes.

This provision has the support of Senator FRANKEN and also Representatives ELLISON, PAULSEN, WALZ, and NOLAN in the House. It was bipartisan. It was supported by Governor Dayton and the City of Minneapolis, as well as a large number of environmental and wildlife organizations, including Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation, the Mississippi River Fund, the Minnesota Izaak Walton League, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Friends of the Mississippi River, just to name a few.

It is also supported by countless anglers across Minnesota, and I appreciate the broad support we have had. It is not easy closing a lock, and we know there were

some limited uses of the lock by certain businesses that during the winter do not use the lock but use barges, and we know the city will be working with them. We also know the kayaking community was using the lock, and I truly appreciate their support in closing down this lock. We had a tour boat that was using this lock, and they no longer use it.

Then of course we had the Army Corps there. We worked with them. It was not easy at first, but I have appreciated their work. We know in an emergency the lock could be opened again. But this is not just a study; this closes down this lock in 1 year.

I also want to thank my colleagues who worked with me on this provision who may have similar locks and dams and were concerned about what precedent this would set. We were able to make this a very focused provision, so we did not get resistance in the end, and they actually worked with me on compromise language, got it in the Senate, and I thank my colleagues in the House for using this exact provision in the House bill.

Closing this lock is supported by many people. I remember meeting with a group of kayakers who, despite being impacted by the lock closure, told me: ``We're with you on this!''

Recreational users of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock have taken voluntary steps, as I mentioned, to limit their use of the lock to reduce the chance of allowing invasive carp to spread upstream, but we knew we had to go further, and that is what we are doing today with the passage of this provision.

Although making the decision to close the lock was not done lightly, it is right for our State. We know invasive species of carp can dominate the environment and make up an astounding 90 percent of the biomass in the river. They outcompete prized sport fish. They make waterskiing unsafe for families, and they make boating in our lakes and rivers smelly and even dangerous.

In Minnesota, the Department of Natural Resources and the Metropolitan Council studied the economic impact of closing the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and also the economic value of recreation activities upstream of this lock. They found that for every one job dependent on the lock staying open, over eight jobs rely on recreational boat trips upstream of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock.

Closing the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock is a key part of a strategy to protect Minnesota's waters for future generations, but the fight against invasive carp does not end here. I will continue to fight for an ``all of the above'' solution to this challenge that includes closing this lock while also supporting research and carp barriers to protect other bodies of water in Minnesota.

Solving this problem will require the continued cooperation of Federal, State, and local stakeholders all working together, and the passage of the lock closure provision is a leap forward, but of course it only helps with Minnesota's northern lakes. We are already seeing problems in the southern rivers, and we need to develop that research.

There must be a way to eliminate these carp--by giving them food that will not kill other fish, by doing things with bubble barriers, and other ideas that have been brought forward. I know the State of Minnesota is working on that. I know the State of Wisconsin is working on that--and people all over the country. The Federal Government must play a role, and we must protect our Great Lakes, but we also must not forget our waterways.

The WRRDA bill also advances critical flood protection projects, including the Fargo-Moorhead--or as I like to call it, being from Minnesota: the Moorhead-Fargo--diversion project which will protect Moorhead, MN, and Fargo, ND, from flooding caused by the Red River of the North.

I have seen firsthand how hard people in the Red River Valley work to prepare for a potential flood. The Presiding Officer knows what this is like in New Jersey with his hurricanes, but I can tell you in Minnesota we literally have to plan for it every single year. They literally have warehouses for people putting sand in bags, anticipating this flooding. In a number of years we nearly lost these two major cities.

This is not the way to do this, as much as we love our volunteers--our seniors, our school kids, and everyone else--who have gathered together to get this project done and have stopped their lives for weeks. It would be much better to have permanent flood protection.

I have worked with Senator Hoeven, of course, and Senator Heitkamp. They have both taken a lead, as well as Senator Franken, to get this done.

The region avoided flooding this year. The river has been, however, in major flood stage 6 out of the last 8 years. In 2009--the year of the record flood--the river rose to more than 40 feet. In Minnesota and North Dakota, the Red River does not divide us. Working together, it actually brings us together and unites us, and it is that spirit of solidarity that drives our efforts in the Red River Basin.

Floods damage homes, destroy crops, and hold entire cities hostage. The Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project is critical to safety and economic development in the region, and finding a permanent solution to the issue makes much more economic sense than continuing to fight the flooding and repair damages year after year.

The WRRDA bill also helps address flood protection for Roseau, MN. Roseau has recovered from a flood in 2002 that caused widespread damage, but the area needs flood protection to reduce the flood stages in the city. The next phase of the Roseau diversion project will reduce future flood damages by nearly 86 percent. I thank Collin Peterson, the Representative who represents Roseau, for his work on getting this funding. The families and businesses of Roseau have waited too long for flood protection, and the WRRDA bill ensures the project will be completed.

But the WRRDA bill does not just protect property; it also strengthens our economy. The competitiveness of our economy is directly tied to the strength of our infrastructure. This includes upgrading and modernizing our ports, our harbors, and our waterways.

The harbor maintenance trust fund collects $700 million more each year than it spends on dredging and maintenance. Meanwhile, our ports and navigation channels wait for basic maintenance.

Coming from New Jersey, the Presiding Officer may think of New Jersey as having ports. Well, we have a major port--one of the biggest ports--in Duluth, MN, that connects goods from the Midwest--not just from Minnesota, from all over the Midwest--to the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is a major port and brings goods in from the rest of the world.

The backlog of sediment due to insufficient dredging is more than 18 million cubic yards and is estimated to cost $200 million. The WRRDA bill helps correct this disparity and ensures that funds are spent to address the needs of shippers and that the Great Lakes system does not fall into further disrepair.

When ships on the Great Lakes have to light load--which means they have about 10 percent less cargo than they should have--when they have to reduce their cargo because channels are not deep enough, our whole economy suffers, not just the shippers, not just the people who are producing the goods. Our whole economy suffers when we have to ship 10 percent less than we could on these ships and instead we are bringing it in from other parts of the world. This does not make any sense at all.

That is why I cosponsored an amendment with Senator Levin that establishes the Great Lakes ports as a single navigation system and sets aside additional funding for the Great Lakes ports.

This provision will help ensure maintenance and dredging is done throughout the Great Lakes system. We are so excited about this. It is finally warming up in Duluth. In northern Minnesota, it is no longer colder than Mars. Our ships are ready to go and transport goods. We want them to be at their full capacity. The only way we can achieve this is by dredging some of these areas where we have seen some major problems.

The bill also makes critical reforms to our Nation's rivers and waterways. The inland waterways system in this country spans 38 States and handles approximately one-half of all inland freight. With many maintenance and construction projects years overdue, the inland waterways are in dire need of major rehabilitation.

The inland waterways trust fund, which funds these projects, is in steady decline. If we do not strengthen it, the industries that so heavily depend on the inland waterways system and the people that work for these industries--critical jobs--will suffer. That is why I cosponsored the RIVER Act with Senators Casey and Landrieu to help move forward major construction projects on the inland waterways system, including much-needed rehabilitation of the locks and dams on the Mississippi River.

A number of the provisions of the RIVER Act are included in the final WRRDA bill, including reforms to the project management process that will help ensure waterways projects are completed on time and cost overruns are minimized.

I also supported Senator Casey's amendment to increase the inland waterways user fee. Let me emphasize that the user who pays this fee asked for it. They agreed to pay this fee. We have a case of a win-win situation where the businesses that use these locks and dams want to actually pay more money to upgrade them because they need to carry their goods to market.

I think the Presiding Officer knows the only way we are going to advance here in this economy on an international basis is if we are making stuff, inventing things, and sending them overseas instead of everyone sending their goods to America. We are not going to do that without a modern transportation system. Here we have businesses that are employing tens of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of people, that are willing to pay extra money to upgrade our locks and dams. That is all this is about.

Industry partners, from farmers to shippers to companies such as Cargill in my State, strongly support this user fee increase. The increase was their idea. They know this modest change will go a long way to ensuring that our Nation's rivers are viable for years to come. The fee increase did not make it into the WRRDA bill because it is a tax provision. There are some good things in this bill for locks and dams. I do appreciate how the industry worked so well with me on allowing this provision of the closure of the one lock in Minnesota to stop the invasive species from going up into our northern lakes.

But I also am continuing to work with them to upgrade our locks and dams throughout the country. One aspect that would truly help is this fee that businesses are willing to pay. It is exactly what we want--private money going to upgrade our infrastructure. So we need to get this done. I will work with them in the future to get it on any bill we can so we can upgrade this country's locks and dams.

Again, I commend Chairman Boxer and Ranking Member Vitter and all of the WRRDA conferees for putting together this bipartisan legislation. From keeping invasive carp out of our waters, to fighting to protect towns from flooding, investing in critical waterway infrastructure, to making sure our harbors are at 100 percent, this legislation is vital to the economy, our environment, our cities and towns. I will be proud to vote for it today.

I yield the floor.

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