Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway Navigation Expansion: An Agricultural Transportation and Environmental Context

Publication Date: July 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

Type:

Abstract:

The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) navigation system provides a vital export outlet for the agricultural bounty of the upper midwestern states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri. The waterway is also a vital means for shipping other bulk commodities important to the regional economy. Commercial navigability on the UMR-IWW is dependent on a system of locks and dams built, maintained, and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Commercial users of the UMR-IWW navigation system -- primarily shippers and agricultural producers -- claim that, since the 1980s, the UMR-IWW has been beset by increasing traffic congestion and delays related to its aging infrastructure and limited lock capacity. These groups advocate that the federal government should invest in major modernization and lock expansion on the UMR-IWW's navigation system. They argue that the economies of the UMR-IWW basin states, as well as U.S. export competitiveness, depend on navigation system improvements.

In contrast, budget watchdogs, environmentalists, and other interest groups argue that improving navigation must not needlessly damage river ecology; less expensive alternatives should first be fully exploited, and major spending on UMRIWW improvements is not fully justified on economic grounds. Advocates of alternate transportation modes, particularly rail, question further federal support for barge transportation to the detriment of rail and truck transportation. Furthermore, considerable uncertainty surrounds projections of future barge demand and contributes to concern about the economic viability of large investments.

In 1993, the Corps began a multiyear feasibility study (called the Navigation Study) to assess navigation efficiency improvements for the UMR-IWW system over a 50-year planning horizon. Following a review of the Corps' draft feasibility study by the National Research Council (sparked by controversy over the economic justification for lock expansion), the economic analysis was reformulated, and the Navigation Study was restructured to include ecosystem restoration.

In April 2004, the Corps announced its preliminary recommendation for integrated investments in navigation and ecosystem restoration. The Corps' recommended navigation improvements are estimated at $2.4 billion; they would be funded 50% from federal general revenues and 50% from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. The plan includes building seven new 1,200 ft. locks and possibly five lock extensions, as well as implementing helper boats and moorings while new locks are designed and constructed. The Corps also recommended a $5.3 billion, 50-year ecosystem restoration plan -- approximately $4.25 billion federal and $1.05 billion nonfederal. For current status of UMR-IWW authorization, see CRS Issue Brief IB10133, Water Resources Development Act (WRDA): Army Corps of Engineers Authorization Issues in the 109th Congress, coordinated by Nicole T. Carter.

This report is unlikely to be updated.