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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
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INLAND NAVIGATION SYSTEM PLANNING: The Upper Mississippi River—Illinois Waterway

Committee to Review the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Navigation System Feasibility Study

Water Science and Technology Board

Division on Earth and Life Studies

Transportation Research Board

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

Support for this project was provided by the Department of the Army under Contract No. DASW01-00-C-3017.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-07405-3

Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway is available from the

National Academy Press,
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418 (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); internet < http://www.nap.edu>.

Cover design by Van Nguyen, National Academy Press. Photos courtesy of Jon Duyvejonck, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo on back Cover, Bridge with Moon, J&D Richardson Stock Photography, Memphis, TN, http://www.jdrichardson.com/memphis1.html

Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Engineering

Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievement of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×

COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER-ILLINOIS WATERWAY NAVIGATION SYSTEM FEASIBILITY STUDY

LESTER B. LAVE, Chair,

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

PHILLIP BAUMEL,

Iowa State University, Ames

KENNETH D. BOYER,

Michigan State University, Ann Arbor

MICHAEL S. BRONZINI,

George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

KENNETH L. CASAVANT,

Washington State University, Pullman

BONNIE G. COLBY,

University of Arizona, Tucson

JONATHAN P. DEASON,

George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

JOSÉ A. GÓMEZ-IBÁNEZ,

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

DELON HAMPTON,

Delon Hampton & Associates, Chartered, Washington, D.C.

EDWIN E. HERRICKS,

University of Illinois, Urbana

DAVID H. MOREAU,

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

NRC Staff

JEFFREY W. JACOBS, Study Director,

Water Science and Technology Board

ANITA A. HALL, Senior Project Assistant,

Water Science and Technology Board

JOSEPH MORRIS, Senior Staff Officer,

Transportation Research Board

SUSAN GARBINI, Senior Staff Officer,

Transportation Research Board

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×

WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOBY BOARD

HENRY J. VAUX, Jr., Chair,

Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland

RICHARD G. LUTHY, Vice Chair,

Stanford University, California

RICHELLE M. ALLEN-KING,

GREGORY B. BAECHER,

University of Maryland, College Park

JOHN BRISCOE,

The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

EFI FOUFOULA-GEORGIOU,

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

STEVEN P. GLOSS,

University of Wyoming, Laramie

WILLIAM A. JURY,

University of California, Riverside

GARY S. LOGSDON,

Black & Veatch, Cincinnati, Ohio

DIANE M. MCKNIGHT,

University of Colorado, Boulder

JOHN W. MORRIS,

J.W. Morris Ltd., Arlington, Virginia

PHILIP A. PALMER (Retired),

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Delaware

REBECCA T. PARKIN,

George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

RUTHERFORD H. PLATT,

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

JOAN B. ROSE,

University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

JERALD L. SCHNOOR,

University of Iowa, Iowa City

R. RHODES TRUSSELL,

Montgomery Watson, Pasadena, California

Staff

STEPHEN D. PARKER, Director

LAURA J. EHLERS, Senior Staff Officer

JEFFREY W. JACOBS, Senior Staff Officer

MARK C. GIBSON, Staff Officer

WILLIAM S. LOGAN, Staff Officer

M. JEANNE AQUILINO, Administrative Associate

PATRICIA A. JONES, Staff Associate

ANITA A. HALL, Administrative Assistant

ELLEN A. DE GUZMAN, Senior Project Assistant

ANIKE L. JOHNSON, Project Assistant

NORA BRANDON, Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chairman: Martin Wachs, Director,

Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Vice Chairman: John M. Samuels, Senior Vice President—Operations Planning and Support (Operations Division),

Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, Virginia

Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr.,

Transportation Research Board

Thomas F. Barry, Jr., Secretary of Transportation,

Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee

Jack E. Buffington, Associate Director and Research Professor,

Mack-Blackwell National Rural Transportation Study Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Sarah C. Campbell, President,

TransManagement, Inc., Washington, D.C.

Anne P. Canby, Secretary of Transportation,

Delaware Department of Transportation, Dover

E. Dean Carlson, Secretary of Transportation,

Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka

Joanne F. Casey, President,

Intermodal Association of North America, Greenbelt, Maryland

John L. Craig, Director,

Nebraska Department of Roads, Lincoln

Robert A. Frosch, Senior Research Fellow,

Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Gorman Gilbert, Director,

Oklahoma Transportation Center, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater

Genevieve Giuliano, Professor,

School of Policy, Planning, and Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Lester A. Hoel, L.A. Lacy Distinguished Professor,

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

H. Thomas Kornegay, Executive Director,

Port of Houston Authority, Houston, Texas

Thomas F. Larwin, General Manager,

San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, San Diego, California

Bradley L. Mallory, Secretary of Transportation,

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg

Jeffrey R. Moreland, Senior Vice President—Law and Chief of Staff,

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, Fort Worth, Texas

Sid Morrison, Secretary of Transportation,

Washington State Department of Transportation. Olympia

John P. Poorman, Staff Director,

Capital District Transportation Committee, Albany, New York

Wayne Shackelford, Senior Vice President,

Gresham Smith & Partners, Alpharetta, Georgia (Past Chairman, 1999)

Michael S. Townes, Executive Director,

Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads, Hampton, Virginia

Thomas R. Warne, Executive Director,

Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City

Arnold F. Wellman, Jr., Vice President,

Corporate Public Affairs, United Parcel Service, Washington, D.C.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
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James A. Wilding, President and CEO,

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Alexandria, Virginia

M. Gordon Wolman, Professor of Geography and Environmental Engineering,

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

David N. Wormley, Dean of Engineering,

Pennsylvania State University, University Park (Past Chairman, 1997)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×

Preface

In its study of the prospects for extending several locks on the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway system, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found itself in the middle of a clash of powerful forces and changing values. The traditional argument has been that the federal government must do everything it can to open the continent to people, promote commerce, and aid exporters. This view continues to be supported by some members of Congress, farmers and tow companies from the areas surrounding these rivers, as well as the Port of New Orleans and exporters. Holders of this view support improvements to navigation system infrastructure on the UMR–IWW in order to carry grain to New Orleans for export. They contend that if tows are now twice as long as in the past, the U.S. should extend the locks to relieve congestion and improve the competitiveness of grain farmers. Complicating this view is a rapidly changing world in which the U.S. has gone from a position of feeding much of the world after World War II to a position of competing, not always successfully, against low cost grain exports from South America and other places. The market for American grain over the next five years is highly uncertain. The market over the next century is unknowable.

Meanwhile, those promoting environmental values now argue that improving navigation must not needlessly damage recreation and river ecology. These same interests also seek reversal of some of the profound changes in river ecology brought about by transforming a free flowing river into a series of pools. Most Americans gave little attention to environmental pollution in 1960; certainly few knew or cared about changes in river ecology. Many environmental views that were extreme in 1970 have become mainstream views in 2001.

In this setting, the Corps was charged with analyzing the benefits and costs of a $1 billion improvement in transportation infrastructure, the extensions of several locks on the UMR–IWW. The benefits arise from the demand for U.S. grain in other nations. Forecasting the demand for even the next few years is difficult. Costs include construction and operations. These costs could be increased greatly by insisting that new infrastructure changes begin to reverse the changes in river ecology caused by the past construction of the locks and dams and the passage of tows. Indeed, the benefit of the infrastructure change would be reduced to zero at the time that the public demanded that the dams be breached to allow a free flowing river.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×

While the mission of this committee never made us the focus of the contending parties, our two meetings in which we asked for public input made the controversy abundantly clear to us. At a narrow, technical level, we pored over the Corps' analyses of the price sensitivity of the current and future demand for barge shipment, the effects of additional traffic on congestion and thus on shipping costs, and the analysis of the environmental effects of construction and the passage of tows. The complexity of these tasks would test any government agency. Accomplishing them in the midst of heated controversy makes them all the more difficult.

No member of the committee is "on the line" in the same way that Corps analysts are. Most of us have the luxury of examining issues at length and without contending parties scrutinizing each step. Thus, we appreciate the difficulty of the Corps' task. Nonetheless, we found that substantial improvements can be made in the Corps' analysis that will help inform decision-makers about the implications of this and other waterway projects. We urge Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Corps to give careful attention to improving the analyses so that society can be better informed about the implications of alternative courses of action.

The committee's study was conducted with appreciation of the analytical and political challenges facing the Corps. We greatly appreciate the Corps of Engineers ' cooperation and assistance in this study and would especially like to thank Phillip Anderson, Ken Barr, Jim Johnson, Gary Loss, Denny Lundberg, Rich Manguno, Dave Tipple, and Hans van Winkle. We also thank Joseph Westphal and James Smyth from the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works for their cooperation and advice. Thanks are also due to Chris Brescia of MARC 2000 (St. Louis), George Dusenberry of the Northeast-Midwest Center (Washington, D.C.), Jon Duyvejonck of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Rock Island, Illinois), Ken Lubinski of the U.S. Geological Survey (LaCrosse, Wisconsin), and Tim Searchinger of Environmental Defense (Washington, D.C.), all of whom spoke with our committee. We are also grateful to the many citizens and interest group representatives who spoke with and educated our committee. We also thank the Corps of Engineers' staff in the St. Louis district office for hosting an informative and enjoyable mid-August field trip to locks and dams 25 and 26. The committee could not have completed its task without the able assistance of Steve Parker, Steve Godwin, Joe Morris, Susan Garbini, and Anita Hall. We are especially indented to Jeffrey Jacobs who served as our chief staff officer and helped us craft the language that said what we wanted to say.

Lester B. Lave

Chairman

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
×

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their reviews of this report:

Gregory B. Baecher, University of Maryland

John Cairns, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Jeanne N. Clarke, University of Arizona

Stephen W. Fuller, Texas A&M University

Gerald E. Galloway, Jr., International Joint Commission

John R. Meyer, Harvard University, Emeritus

Kenneth A. Small, University of California, Irvine

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Debra Knopman, Progressive Policy Institute, appointed by Division on Earth and Life Studies and Sherwin Rosen, The University of Chicago, appointed by the NRC's Report Review Committee who were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Inland Navigation System Planning: The Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10072.
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In 1988, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began an investigation of the benefits and costs of extending several locks on the lower portion of the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) in order to relieve increasing waterway congestion, particularly for grain moving to New Orleans for export. With passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936, Congress required that the Corps conduct a benefit-cost analysis as part of its water resources project planning; Congress will fund water resources projects only if a project's benefits exceed its costs. As economic analysis generally, and benefit-cost analysis in particular, has become more sophisticated, and as environmental and social considerations and analysis have become more important, Corps planning studies have grown in size and complexity. The difficulty in commensurating market and nonmarket costs and benefits also presents the Corps with a significant challenge. The Corps' analysis of the UMR-IWW has extended over a decade, has cost roughly $50 million, and has involved consultations with other federal agencies, state conservation agencies, and local citizens. The analysis has included many consultants and has produced dozens of reports.

In February 2000, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) requested that the National Academies review the Corps' final feasibility report. After discussions and negotiations with DOD, in April 2000 the National Academies launched this review and appointed an expert committee to carry it out.

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