Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock Disposition Study

I am really excited this week to learn the magic words for initiating the decommissioning process for infrastructure managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.  “Disposition studies” re-evaluate federal interest in any particular project and lay out alternatives for decommissioning the specified infrastructure. 

As you probably know already, Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock will be closed in June 2015 due to insufficient traffic.  Although the real reason the Minnesota Congressional delegation pushed to close the lock was to create a permanent barrier against advancing Asian carp.  The Corps’ draft environmental assessment for the closure will be available for review by the end of December 2014 and will be open for 30 days for public comments.

The assessment will review two alternatives: 1. Open the lock for the start of the shipping season and closing it in June or 2. Don’t reopen the lock after winter.  The Corps only plans to look at the shipping impacts above Upper St. Anthony Falls, not below it or in Pool 1.  Although, it’s possible that shipping will drop precipitously in the Twin Cities after the northern lock is closed. 

The assessment that is being drafted only reviews the immediate future of the lock, i.e. the imminent closure.  To plan beyond the closure, the Corps will request $200-350,000 for an Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock Disposition Study in the next fiscal year to evaluate a long term plan for the closed lock.  Obviously, if left alone, it will deteriorate, fall apart, become a safety hazard, and fail to provide a barrier to invading carp. 

The disposition study will evaluate options like deauthorizing the 9-foot channel above the lock, altering the lock, or replacing the lock with some other kind of structure that creates a barrier to advancing fish but still allowing flood waters to pass through.  The study could also provide an opportunity to plan a portage around the falls for all those brave souls who paddle Old Man River from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico.

When the environmental assessment is available for review, I’ll write about it here.  And since I usually do a budget request blog, you can expect to see more information about the disposition study when it becomes available.