Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Restructured Upper Mississippi-Illinois River Waterway Feasibility Study (2004) / Chapter Skim
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2 Findings and Recommendations
2 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 22-36
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From page 22... ...
Furthermore, the decision to adopt the Tow Cost Model contradicts advice about demand modeling provided in the NRC Phase I report by an independent group asked for advice in improving the study's economic analyses. The Corps proposes that national economic development (NED)
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From page 23... ...
inland waterway system, domestic markets and alternative ports and toutings become increasingly feasible and likely. For example, overland grain exports to Mexico may increase as lock congestion builds, as may rail shipments to Pacific Northwest ports or shipments to domestic markets now served by Mississippi River basin grain production.
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From page 24... ...
Another module should focus on world demand for grain, which is a function of population, income, domestic production, and global market prices of meat for import. Appendix A lists additional factors that should be included in a credible spatial price model of UMR-IWW transportation demand.
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From page 25... ...
Forecasts of increases in U.S. grain exports should present explanations for likely export trends after 2003 that are consistent with history and with expert opinion on likely future conditions in global grain markets.
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From page 26... ...
Like the report from the Phase I committee, this report also finds that meaningful planning of lock extensions must await the time when the existing system is operated at reasonably full efficiency and that the without-project condition should include traffic management measures that achieve more effective operational efficiency of the existing system. Moreover, because improved waterway traffic management should shorten the idle time of tows at locks and between locks, such measures could also reduce environmental impacts such as fish entrainment and increased turbidity.
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From page 27... ...
A broad, holistic perspective is also necessary because of the significant implications of Mississippi River water quality and sediment transport for downstream regions in and along the Gulf of Mexico. The Corps should thus, to the maximum extent feasible, consider factors such as water quality, flood damage reduction, and sediment transport in order to reflect a more holistic approach to dealing with the diverse management issues in the UMR-IWW.
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From page 28... ...
An adaptive management approach should help the Corps better understand how to adjust to future changes, and the Corps should consider the possibility of changes such as long-term changes in climate. The adaptive management approach can also help focus attention on nonstructural solutions that avoid, in the words of the Phase I committee, "the trap of irreversibility." Many of the environmental restoration, mitigation, and environmental enhancement actions proposed for the Upper Mississippi reflect a collaborative effort between the Corps and the U.S.
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From page 29... ...
describe the use of such adaptive management processes in more detail. The Corps should implement adaptive management concepts and approaches throughout all aspects of the planning process.
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From page 30... ...
Not only does the current schedule provide the Corps with a short amount of time to respond to the present and subsequent reports from this committee in general, but implementation of this report's recommendations cannot be adequately completed on the current feasibility study schedule. Although the committee is prepared to conduct its review and provide advice to the Corps with due speed, and likewise respects the need to move forward with the feasibility study, the study schedule should allow adequate time for credible analysis to
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From page 31... ...
For example, flood easements or outright buyouts of selected levee districts might reduce future flood damages and flood heights, reduce the time during floods when the river has to be closed to navigation, and provide fish and wildlife habitat. A fundamental principle of adaptive management is evaluating the outcomes of management actions (evaluation builds upon and draws lessons from data gathered from
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From page 32... ...
Suggestions for securing funding for ecosystem restoration in the UMR-IWW include a program similar to the Land and Water Conservation Fund or a trust fund similar to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. The Corps has identified the potentially high costs of implementing proposed restoration and adaptive management efforts as part of the feasibility study.
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From page 33... ...
In contrast, environmental restoration components of the project generally require non-federal cost sharing: · Environmental Management Program projects as authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 and amended in the WRDA of 1990 and 1999 provide 100 percent federal funding for EMP projects on National Wildlife Refuge lands and 65 percent federal, 35 percent nonfederal funding for projects not located on federal lands. For modification of structures and operations of water resources projects to improve the quality of the environment under Section 1135 of the WRDA of 1986, the cost sharing is 75 percent federal, 25 percent nonfederal.
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From page 34... ...
Lock and Dam Rehabilitation The NRC (2001) Phase I committee report recommended: "If new waterway traffic demand forecasts are developed, it will be important to revisit the rehabilitation costs analysis to ensure consistency with the revised traffic demand forecasts." The Corps background summary response (USAGE, 2003b)
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From page 35... ...
Findings and Recommendations 35 requests that th C e orps respond to this recommendation from the NRC
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