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Corps Will Proceed With Missouri River Water Flow Reduction Plan

Sam Powers
/
KRCU

The Army Corps of Engineers will continue with their plan to reduce water flows off the Missouri River later this month, but the Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard have no plans to close navigation on the Mississippi River.

River navigation industry leaders have urged the Corps to reconsider the water reduction plan, saying it will cause navigation to grind to a halt.

At a press conference in St. Louis on Friday, Major General John Peabody, commander of the Corps’ Mississippi River Division, said he has limited capacity to improve the navigation situation.

Speaking in military terms, General Peabody said the Corps must plan for the long-term and eschew short-term fixes.

“We know we’re probably going to get a resupply of water,” General Peabody said. “We can’t predict exactly when it’s going to be, so we have to plan for worst case scenarios and husband what we have for the long term, not shoot our final defense before the enemy is even within sight.”

General Peabody anticipates river levels will reach record or near-record lows and the drought will continue into next year, so it’s largely an issue of there not being enough water in the entire system.

“What we really need to do is work closely with the navigation industry and the Coast Guard to make decisions on what traffic is going to be moved and what’s not. And I’m going to continue to pray for rain and hope that one of these days my prayers will be answered,” General Peabody said.

The Corps is moving forward to finish contracts to remove rock pinnacles at Grand Tower and Thebes. They are still abiding by federal contracting laws, which means they may not be able to get to work on removal until February or March.

That’s not soon enough for Craig Philip. He’s the Chief Executive Officer for the Ingram Barge Company. He and other barge industry leaders requested an executive order to speed up the contracting process.

“When emergencies happen you take emergency action and we think that’s what’s called for here,” Philip said. “The General may be absolutely right - he has no wherewithal to operate, deviate out of his normal practices unless someone higher up tells him that’s what he needs to do. We’re taking the step of seeing if that can be possible.”

River industry leaders like George Foster, the owner of JB Marine Service, says the delay will affect livelihoods.

“If barges can’t get up here, there’s absolutely no work for the folks that run the terminals, for companies such as mine, for our companies that ship barges to docks and terminals for loading and unloading. So it has a dramatic effect, not just on the national economy, but it has a dramatic effect on the local economy in regions on the Mississippi from Cairo north, just doing jobs,” Foster said.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn have both urged the Corps to keep the river open.
 
Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) believes there is a way to get around some of the contracting law red tape.

“I think that to be realistic, it is quite possible for all interested parties to put some pressure on so that we can get waivers to expedite these processes,” Emerson said.

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Byron Black, the Sector Commander for the Upper Mississippi River, said he has no intention of closing navigation on the Mississippi River unless there is a casualty that requires a salvage or recovery operation.

“There’s a lot of tools we’ve got in the toolbox, ranging from a potential reductions in drafts, to potential reductions in tow size, to potentially asking, having a helper boat to assist boats, potentially doing one-way in particular areas,” Captain Black said.

Mississippi River levels will drop by 2 to 3 feet by early December after Missouri River flows are reduced.

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