6 minute read
ISG Advocates for Inland Waterways Improvements
By Brynna Sentel
Infrastructure is always top-of-mind for our farmers. Whether they are trying to get to the field, transporting their beans for sale, or exporting to international customers, infrastructure is imperative for the success of farmers’ operations.
“I think having a good river system for barges to navigate is very important,” says ISA At-Large Director, Tim Scates. “If we didn't have the river system, we wouldn't be getting the price we are for the beans that we're selling. It would be much more costly to go either to a rail system, or by truck.”
One 15-barge tow can move the equivalent of 216 rail cars and well over 1,050 semi-trucks. Putting that much product back on our roads would negatively impact the road system and our environment.
There are eight lock and dam systems on the Illinois River alone and 29 on the Mississippi River, 15 of which are within the state of Illinois, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
From Lock and Dam 25, products are shipped to 132 counties in 16 states and global markets. An outage would cost nearly $1.6 billion and increase the number of truck traffic trips by more than 500,000 annually, according to the Navigation and Ecosystem Program (NESP).
“These locks and dams were made with 1940s technology, infrastructure and boat sizes, and were only meant to have a 50-year lifespan,” says ISA Public Policy Manager, David Kubik. “Now they are going on 80-90, maybe 100 years, and superficial repairs aren’t enough. We need to modernize if we want to enable today’s Illinois farmers to continue to remain competitive and send their products to customers around the world.”
These modernizing upgrades are not only costly but also take time and manpower. One lock and dam system costs approximately $1 billion and takes several years to complete.
Scates had an opportunity with the Soy Transportation Coalition to go down to Louisiana, where the Governor was presented a check for $2 million provided by the United Soybean Board to help offset the research, planning, design and engineering costs associated with these lock and dam projects.“ I think that trip helped us articulate to other states how their economies are potentially impacted by critical infrastructure modernizations," says Scates.
An issue that keeps presenting itself when upgrading these systems is the ecosystems surrounding the Mississippi River. According to NESP, the Mississippi River is home to 25 percent of North America’s fish species and is a flyway for 60 percent of North America’s bird species.
The Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG) advocates for funding for the Preconstruction Engineering & Design (PED) of NESP projects, which includes locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River systems.
Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-17), along with Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-15), and Congressman Darin LaHood (R-16) are working to fully fund these lock and dam systems. As part of their efforts, they fought for the inclusion of $75 million in the FY2024 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill to upgrade the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers’ navigation infrastructure.
Congress further authorized smaller-scale efficiency improvements that will provide immediate benefits. NESP’s authorization includes $1.948 billion for the seven new locks and $256 million for the smallscale efficiency measures.
“ISG secured funding for Lock and Dam 25,” says Kubik. “We got that funding included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. So, we will hopefully find funding mechanisms like that to speed up funding other locks and dams down the way.”
NESP includes the construction of seven 1,200-foot locks at the most congested locations (Locks and Dams 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25 on the Upper Mississippi River and La Grange and Peoria on the Illinois Waterway).
ISG is also advocating for increasing the federal component of the cost-share ratio of Inland Waterways Trust Fund projects to accelerate timeframes for upgraded locks on inland waterways.
“Funding for Lock and Dam 25 is coming out of the bipartisan infrastructure bill," says Kubik. “The LaGrange Lock and Dam upgrade is funded by user fees which have to be spent, unlike Lock and Dam 25 which came from a big spending bill that we just borrowed money from.”
This isn’t just an agricultural issue. As a landlocked state, several industries and even consumers rely on the Mississippi River to keep their industries profitable and the price of goods down.
“Some of the investments that we're making now help the bottom line of soybean farmers,” says Scates. “But it's not just farmers that use these locks and dams, it's also the petroleum companies, fertilizer companies, and several other businesses which rely on waterways for efficient transportation.”
ISG is working to find efficiencies from other programs and implementing those principles in this program.
“Many of the locks and dams on the system have very similar designs, so we are exploring avenues to increase efficiencies,” says Kubik. “The problem is the mechanism used to fund NESP and the Army Corps only has the funding to work on one at a time. The plan to build these locks and dams is approved, however they've only actually funded construction of one at the current moment.”
Finding the funding is the next step, and that starts with education.
“I think any time Illinois growers have the opportunity to talk to a Department of Transportation official and legislators, talk about the road systems, our rivers, and the rail system,” says Scates. “We don't have any other way to get our product to the market. Let them know 60 percent of what we grow is exported. The modernization of the locks and dams of the Mississippi will enable agricultural producers to bring products to market faster, increase trade by speeding up the transport of American-grown products, and spur job creation.”
Continues Scates, “That’s not just a win for our state. That’s a win for our nation.”
