Locks & Loads: Environmental Lock
By Matthew Wilde, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa
Oct. 23–LAST IN A SERIES — DAVENPORT — Conservation groups say the Mississippi River is endangered.
Congress wants to fix the problem. A decision whether to take action could be made this week.
The Water Resources Development Act recently passed by Congress authorizes $1.7 billion in ecosystem improvements to the upper Mississippi River, along with $2 billion in new infrastructure. To go along with seven new locks — five on the Mississippi and two on the Illinois rivers — geared toward increasing shipping efficiency, the environment also will be in the spotlight. Water quality, wildlife habitat and land improvements are slated.
The bill is expected to go to the president this week, who has threatened a veto. Iowa’s congressional delegates said a veto override is likely.
Conservationists say decades of lock and dam construction altering the Mississippi’s natural flow, pollution and commercial and recreational boat traffic have taken its toll. Numerous aquatic and terrestrial animals — like paddlefish, the wood turtle and Higgins Eye Pearly Mussel — that call the river home are on the threatened or endangered species list. Shoreline erosion isn’t uncommon, and backwaters and the drainage district can’t keep up with their job of filtering out contaminants.
“The Mississippi is no longer a living river, it’s just a series of interconnected big bathtubs,” said Jeff Ruch, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Environmentalists realize removing the locks and dams and restoring the Mississippi River to its original state isn’t an option. But spending billions to repair and improve the ecosystem is a good start.
Money to improve the environment wasn’t included in previous water bills, conservationists said, which may have contributed to several failed attempts during the past decade. The National Audubon Society, for example, only supported the bill when the environment was no longer an afterthought.
The group, with more than 500,000 members nationwide and active lobbyists in Washington, D.C., says the Mississippi is one of the nation’s most important and neglected river. The group endorsed the bill’s 15-year plan to restore 105,000 acres of habitat and protect 35,000 acres of flood plain habitat in five states.
A monitoring program is also a part of the bill. Before initiating construction, restoration goals will be set.
“We’re supporting the bill on the basis of ecosystem restoration,” said April Gromnicki, director of ecosystem restoration for the National Audubon Society. “Navigation projects cut off the river from the natural flood plain. This will reverse those inadvertent causes.”
A study released last week by the National Research Council said the government needs to do a better job protecting the Mississippi River.
“The limited attention being given to monitoring and managing the Mississippi’s water quality does not match the river’s significant economic, ecological and cultural importance,” David A. Dzomback, professor of environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said in an Associated Press story. He chaired the committee that released the report.
The report said action has been taken in recent years to reduce point-source pollution from factories and wastewater treatment plants. But nonpoint sources, such as nutrients and sediments, that enter the river and its tributaries continue to be a problem.
The council calls on the Environment Protection Agency to coordinate the efforts affecting the river.
Bill advocates say restoring islands, backwaters, side channels and using existing dams to manage water levels, will benefit more than 300 bird species, 100 fish species and improve habitat along more than 800 miles of river.
“We’re actively lobbying the White House (for support), and we’ll actively reach out to our members to talk to Congress,” Gromnicki said. “(People) care about the river but don’t know the problems and ways to protect it.”
Paul Rohde, vice president of the Waterways Council, doubts any conservation group would be in favor of the bill without the proposed environmental improvements. In fact, he thinks it’s a major reason the bill has overwhelming support in Congress.
The Waterways Council may be an advocate for the barge industry, but Rohde said the environment needs to be looked after as well. Reports indicate there were about 2.6 million acres of flood plain habitat between Minneapolis and Cairo, Ill., just south of St. Louis. Because of lock and dam construction, only about 1 million acres remain.
“This will help the upper Mississippi remain a gem for those who enjoy the river,” Rohde said.
—–
To see more of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wcfcourier.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.