Pool 2 Channel Realignment

Just above Lock and Dam 2 at Hastings, MN the navigation channel in the Mississippi River makes a tight turn, almost 90 degrees.  According to the navigation industry, 54 groundings have occurred at the site since 1990 and tows cannot move through the turn with a full load of 15 barges. 

In an effort to make navigation more profitable on this stretch of the Mississippi River, the Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to cut a new channel to circumvent the bend through what was known before the dam was built as Boulanger Slough. 

Source:  US Army Corps of Engineers

Is it a good idea?  The navigation industry argues that new channel is necessary to increase profitability.  But the Corps must justify the new channel from an operations and maintenance cost-benefit perspective.  When companies have to pay more to run smaller barge fleets, it’s not a public operations and maintenance expense.  

What are the public expenses of the proposed Boulanger Slough channel?  So far, the public expenses add up to cutting the new channel itself, dredging more sediment downstream, mitigating the environmental impact, and disposing of contaminated sediment

The new channel cut will certainly increase sedimentation downstream, which may increase the cost of operations and maintenance since it will require more dredging downstream.  There may also be costs associated with special handling of contaminated sediment since the site has elevated levels of contaminates including nickel, PAHs, PCBs, and other heavy metals.  But the Corps hopes to dodge environmental mitigation requirements by asking the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program do a restoration project downstream – a program that is not in the mitigation business. 

Even with all these certain costs, the Corps still thinks the project will overall reduce channel maintenance expenses, but they haven't produced the figures for all of it.  If the project moves forward, the Corps will be holding public meetings within the next year.  So stay tuned for opportunities to comment.

Full Funding for Upper Mississippi River Restoration Likely

Pelican Farm by Chris Young

Last week, the Senate approved their fiscal year 2015 budget, which, like the House budget, included $33.17 million for Upper Mississippi River Restoration.  This is full funding for the popular restoration program!  The House and Senate 2015 budgets still needs to be reconciled before it goes to the President, but it is very likely the Upper Mississippi River Restoration funding will be included. 

Over the past few years, Congress has been incrementally increasing funding for the restoration program after decades of minimal funding.  Through the 1990s and 2000s the program received an average $20 million annually, so this is the first time since the program’s inception in 1986 that Congress has appropriated its full authorized amount.

Why is Congress suddenly so interested in Upper Mississippi River Restoration?  Partly because groups like the Mississippi River Network and Nicollet Island Coalition have stepped up their advocacy for the program.  But also, the Corps fixed a major budgeting error in 2014 allowing them to finally request full funding for the program. 

This money will go towards important work that will protect and restore the upper Mississippi River.  About two-thirds of the money will be put to habitat rehabilitation on the river and one-third will be spent on monitoring.  Go here for more information about the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program.

Thank you Congress for recommending full funding for this essential program!