Upper Mississippi River System: Proposals to Restore an Inland Waterway's Ecosystem

Publication Date: June 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

Recent proposals to expand the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) -- a major transportation route for products moving to and from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin -- have met with significant controversy. Some of this controversy centers on the cumulative environmental effects of the current navigation system and the proposed expansion. The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) -- which includes the navigation channel and surrounding floodplain -- supports an unusually large number of species for a temperate river. The UMR-IWW navigation system alters UMRS habitat and contributes to a decline in the abundance of some species. For example, locks, dams, and other channel structures inhibit the movement of fish between and within river segments; fill side channels, backwaters, and wetlands with sediment; and suppress plant growth by reducing water clarity.

In 2001, in response to criticism that draft navigation feasibility studies did not look at navigation's cumulative environmental effects, the Corps restructured its feasibility study to include an ecosystem restoration component. In late September 2004, the Corps released a final feasibility report recommending that Congress approve a 50-year framework for combined ecosystem restoration and navigation improvements. The ecosystem restoration component is aimed at maintaining and restoring a broad array of habitats and ecosystem processes at a total cost of $5.3 billion for the 50-year plan. Authorization of an initial set of both restoration projects at $1.58 billion and navigation projects at $2.03 billion has been proposed in the 109th Congress. (For a discussion of proposed legislation, see CRS Report RL32915, Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Investments: Legislation in the 109th Congress, by Nicole T. Carter and Kyna Powers.)

The federal responsibility (and more specifically the role of the Corps) for restoring ecosystems altered by federal projects is still being defined. Consequently, the scope of large-scale restoration efforts and the federal/non-federal cost-share are being developed largely on a case-by-case basis. The Corps' UMRS restoration plan recommends actions limited to the navigation system and its floodplain, with federal responsibility for more than 90% of the cost. The underlying question is whether, or in what form, Congress will authorize and appropriate funds for ecosystem restoration on the UMRS. If authorized, UMRS restoration would be the Corps' second large-scale restoration effort and the first large-scale restoration effort for a high-volume commercial waterway.

This report explains what is meant by restoration and why the UMRS ecosystem is being considered for restoration, the Corps' restoration plan, and some of the issues in the debate over federal investment in this restoration. This report will be updated as events warrant.