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About
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Analysis
& Findings |
Lessons
& Conclusion |
Project
Reports |
Contact
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Protecting
and Restoring the Upper Mississippi River
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Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers from space: Source NASA
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About
the Ecosystem
The
rivers of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) system include the
Upper Mississippi, Illinois, Minnesota, St. Croix, Black, and
Kaskaskia Rivers. These rivers drain an area of approximately
190,000 square miles - referred to here as the UMR basin - that
spans large portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois,
and Missouri and small part of Indiana and South Dakota. The UMR's
floodplain, defined as the area between the bluffs, encompasses
some 2,110,000 acres of land and water. Roughly 1,300 miles of
the UMR system are navigable.
Approximately
30 million people live in the UMR basin, whose dominant land use
is agriculture (66 percent). The UMR system serves as a source
for drinking water, irrigation, manufacturing processes, and power
generation. The navigation infrastructure constructed over the
last century supports a transportation industry that ships more
than 100 million tons of cargo through the UMR system each year.
Recreational uses - fishing, hunting, boating, birding, etc. -
along the UMR system are also heavy. The UMR attracts an estimated
12 million annual visitors who spend approximately $1.2 billion
and support roughly 18,000 recreation-related jobs.
In
1986, Congress designated the Upper Mississippi River as a nationally
significant ecosystem. Habitat within the UMR system supports
more than 300 species of birds, 57 species of mammals, 45 species
of amphibians and reptiles, 150 species of fish, and nearly 50
species of freshwater mussels. An estimated 40 percent of North
America's waterfowl and shorebirds migrate through the corridor
or stop seasonally to breed or overwinter. There are five National
Wildlife Refuges in the UMR system: the Upper Mississippi River
National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, and the Mark Twain, Trempealeau,
Minnesota Valley, and Illinois River National Wildlife Refuges.
They cover 300,000 acres of wooded islands, water, and wetlands
within the river corridor, and they provide important habitat
for migratory birds, waterfowl, fish, and other aquatic organisms.
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Ecosystem
Problems
Agricultural,
navigation-related, and urban development have significantly
modified the hydrology, water quality, and overall ecosystem
integrity of the Upper Mississippi River System. Changes to
the natural variability of water flow, water timing, and water
distribution throughout the system by navigational dredging,
locks and dams, and urban and agricultural land use demands
have resulted in many problems.
Major
problems in the ecosystem include:
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Water
quality degradation from nutrient-laden runoff, sediment loss,
sewage discharges, acid drainage, thermal pollution, bacteriological
pollution, and oil pollution;
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Loss
of wildlife and wildlife diversity, with two species of freshwater
mussel listed as endangered and another five species listed
as rare;
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Loss
of habitat and habitat diversity, with over 66 percent of
the basin's land area converted to agricultural land, a loss
of up to 95 percent of wetlands in Iowa and Illinois, and
urban areas expanding at a rate of 80,000 acres per year;
-
Sedimentation
of river banks and increased erosion resulting in habitat
degradation, the destruction of fish spawning areas, decreased
light penetration to aquatic plants, and habitat loss;
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Alteration
of natural water flows and seasonal fluctuations due to lock
and dam operations;
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Deposition
of sediments resulting in more uniform riverbeds and a reduction
in the amount and types of habitat needed for plants and other
sessile organisms;
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Excessive
suspended sediments, especially fine sediments, which block
sunlight and impede photosynthesis for plants, reduce visibility
for fish, and bury mussels and other filter-feeding organisms;
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Invasive
species infestations (Asian carp, Round goby, Zebra mussels,
etc.) particularly from the inter-basin connection with the
Great Lakes basin;
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Expansion
of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia zone;
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Conflicting
national environmental and economic development policies,
and water and land resource uses.
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Ecosystem
Users
Residents
Since settlement more than 200 years ago, the population of
the Upper Mississippi River System has grown to more than 30
million people. The expansion of cities and their influence
have urbanized much of the area. Major population centers of
the region include Chicago, St. Louis, the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St.
Paul, Minnesota), and the Quad-Cities (Bettendorf and Davenport,
Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois). Basin residents
rely on the Upper Mississippi River System's water for drinking,
public and industrial supplies, and wastewater assimilation.
Industry
The Upper Mississippi River System serves as a source for manufacturing
processes, power generation, and power plant cooling. Manufacturing
comprises the largest share of employment in the area although
service-orientated employment is on the rise. The region's mineral
industry is an important factor in the economy of both the region
and the nation. Commodities of natural significance are bituminous
coal, iron ore, lead, and zinc. Other commodities of great importance
to the region include sand, gravel, and stone.
Commercial
navigation
The Upper Mississippi's navigation system, consisting of 1,300
miles of navigable rivers and waterways, plays a major role
in the movement of bulk commodities from within the region to
the nation's manufacturing centers. Each year more than 100
million tons of cargo is transported between St. Paul and St.
Louis. Agricultural commodities, petroleum products, and coal
are the leading cargoes, with farm products accounting for approximately
half the total tonnage shipped.
Recreation
The Upper Mississippi River System attracts annually an estimated
12 million recreational visitors who spend approximately $1.2
billion and support roughly 18,000 recreation-related jobs.
Recreational use of the region's resources has increased substantially
since World War II, with at least one-fourth of the demand for
outdoor recreation facilities in the Upper Mississippi River
System for water-related activities such as boating, fishing,
and swimming.
Agriculture
Over two-thirds of the land in the Upper Mississippi River System
is used for agricultural production. Nearly 70 percent of the
country's grain is exported from the upper Midwest through the
port of New Orleans via the Mississippi River
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Ecosystem
Map
Map
of the Upper Mississippi River System (source: Upper Mississippi
River Basin Association)
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Ecosystem
Alteration
Below
is a timeline of major events and legislative actions that have
contributed to the large-scale alterations of the ecosystems
of the Upper Mississippi River System and the broader watershed:
Upper
Mississippi River surveys and exploration, 1817 - 1823
Army Engineer, Major Stephen H. Long, surveyed and explored
the Upper Mississippi River, looking for ways to improve the
region for settlement and commerce. Among other things, his
report recommended that canals be constructed around the rapids.
As a result, Congress assigned responsibility for managing the
Mississippi River and improving it for steamboats to the Army
Corps of Engineers.
Federal
authority over interstate commerce, 1824
The United States Supreme Court ruled in Gibbons v. Ogden that
the power of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce
includes the power to regulate river navigation "so far
as that navigation may be in any manner connected with commerce."
The decision gave to Congress the legal authority to fund river
improvements.
General
Survey Act of 1824
Congress passed the General Survey Act authorizing the president
to employ civil engineers and officers of the Army Corps of
Engineers to make surveys, plans, and estimates for "routes
of such roads and canals as he may deem of national importance
in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for
the transportation of public mail."
Roads
and Canals Act of 1824
Within one month of passage of the General Survey Act, Congress
approved the Roads and Canals Act, appropriating $75,000 to
the Army Corps of Engineers to improve navigation on the Ohio
and Mississippi Rivers by removing sandbars, snags, and other
obstacles.
Rivers
and Harbors Act of 1826
Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act, authorizing the
president to have river surveys undertaken to clean out and
deepen selected waterways and to make various other river and
harbor improvements. In consolidating both planning and construction,
the Act became the first true river and harbor law.
Mississippi
River flood, 1828
Generally believed to be the greatest flood of the nineteenth
century, the Mississippi River flood of 1828 caused widespread
damage to the region.
Army
Corps surveys, 1837
The Army Corps of Engineers conducted surveys of the 15-mile
Rock Island rapids at Rock Island, Illinois and the nine-mile
Des Moines rapids at Keokuk, Iowa.
Des Moines
rapids canal, 1839
Authorized to cut a channel through the Des Moines rapids in
1838, the Army Corps of Engineers blasted a channel five-feet
deep and 200-feet wide through the rapids, completing the canal
in 1839.
Swamp
Land Acts of 1849, 1850 and 1860
The Swamp Land Acts of 1849, 1850, and 1860 transferred nearly
65 million acres of wetlands in 15 states from the federal government
to state governments in order to expedite drainage. Within the
Upper Mississippi River System, these Acts resulted in Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa collectively having more than 80
percent of their wetlands drained, and Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin collectively losing
35 million acres of wetlands.
Rock
Islands Rapids canal, 1854 - 1907
Authorized in 1854 to cut a channel through the Rock Island
Rapids and to clear snags and other hazards from the Upper Mississippi
River, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the clearing in
1867. Even though larger rocks are removed from the channel,
the Rock Island Rapids still remained a major obstacle until
the Moline Lock, completed in 1907, enabled boats to bypass
the worst of it.
Publication
of Mississippi River Report, 1861
Humphreys and Abbot's "Report upon the Physics and Hydraulics
of the Mississippi River," completed after more than ten
years of exhaustive research, represented the most thorough
analyses of the Mississippi River to date. The report won the
respect of engineers around the world, both in terms of data
gathered and the conclusions rendered, and it influenced the
development of flood control policy well into the twentieth
century.
Creation
of House Standing Committee on Mississippi Levees, 1875
Led by Louisiana Congressman Randall Lee Gibson, flood control
advocates convinced House Speaker Michael C. Kerr of Indiana
to authorize the creation of a House Standing Committee on Mississippi
Levees. Beginning with its inception in December 1875, the Committee
became the voice for flood control interests in Congress and
remained so for more than 35 years.
Navigational
channel development, 1878
To compete with newly created railroad networks, Congress authorized
the creation and maintenance of a navigational channel 4.5-foot
deep on the Upper Mississippi River between St. Paul, Minnesota,
and the mouth of the Ohio River. Obtained through construction
of wing dams, closing dams, shore protection and dredging, and
funded yearly by Congress, the channel project was finally completed
in 1907.
Mississippi
River Commission Act of 1879
Representing the first federal attempt to develop a coordinated
plan for the development of the Mississippi River, Congress
established the Mississippi River Commission; a seven-member
advisory board made up of three Army Corps of Engineers representatives,
one Coast and Geodetic Survey representative, and three civilians
(at least two of whom had to be engineers). Congress tasked
the Commission with developing and overseeing the implementation
of plans to "improve and give safety and ease to navigation"
and to "prevent destructive floods" on the Mississippi
River. The Army Corps of Engineers was charged with conducting
the work, and also with supplying necessary plants and equipment.
Flood
Control, 1880s
The Army Corps of Engineers began construction of flood control
structures throughout the Upper Mississippi River System. By
constraining and redirecting the river channel and cutting it
off from its floodplain, the flood control measures greatly
altered the hydrology of the entire Mississippi River system
as well as the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems it supports.
Fish
stocking, 1880s
Fish stocking on the Upper Mississippi River began with introductions
of American shad, Atlantic salmon, and carp.
River
and Harbor Act of 1880
Congress authorized a dam at Lake Winnibigoshish, Wisconsin,
on the headwaters of the Mississippi River for navigation purposes.
The dam was the first reservoir to be built by the Army Corps
of Engineers.
Congressional
Appropriation Bill, 1881
The Congressional Appropriation Bill of 1881 included a provider
restricting the Mississippi River Commission's authority to
construct levees for the purpose of flood control.
Congressional
Appropriation Bill, 1882
The Congressional Appropriation Bill of 1882 authorized the
Army Corps of Engineers to undertake levee construction for
the purpose of improving navigation, but not for flood control.
Rivers
and Harbors Appropriations Act, 1882
The 1882 River and Harbors Appropriations Act signaled Congress'
intent to improve waterways to benefit the nation by promoting
competition amongst transportation modes. It was the first act
of Congress to combine appropriations for development of the
nation's waterways with a reaffirmation of the policy of freedom
from tolls and other user charges.
Dam construction,
1884
The Army Corps of Engineers began construction of six dams on
the Upper Mississippi River in Minnesota in order to stabilize
water levels downstream. Construction was complete by 1912.
Mississippi
River flood, 1890
The Mississippi River flood of 1890 proved that levees on the
river system were inadequate and focused congressional attention
on river problems. The flood provided evidence that the Mississippi
River Commission's efforts, together with those of state and
local levee organizations, to contain the river's main channel
and close off its natural outlets contributed to higher flood
levels.
River
and Harbor Act of 1890
In reaction to the severe Mississippi River flood of 1890, the
River and Harbor Act of 1890 appropriated $3.5 million to the
Mississippi River Commission. For the first time bill language
did not include the standard provider against levee construction
for the purpose of controlling floods. The landmark piece of
legislation contributed to the rapid expansion of levee construction
under the Mississippi River Commission.
Pearl
button industry, 1891
Pearl buttons produced from harvested Mississippi River mussel
shells became one of the region's biggest booming industries.
Mississippi
River Commission, 1896
The Mississippi River Commission admitted that its attempts
to improve navigability of the Mississippi River through bank
revetment and contraction works had generally failed. By temporarily
abandoning these expensive river improvement efforts, the Commission
was able to concentrate ever greater percentages of its resources
on the construction of levees.
Construction
of dredges, 1896
Congress authorized the construction of dredges with the view
of ultimately obtaining and maintaining a navigable channel
from Cairo, Illinois, not less than 250-feet in width and 9-feet
in depth at all periods of the year except when navigation was
closed by ice. In response, the Mississippi River Commission
created an independent dredging district at St. Louis, Missouri.
Mississippi
River flood, 1897
The devastation caused by the Mississippi River flood of 1897
forced Congress to reassess the value and direction of its flood
control program for the Lower Mississippi River.
Nelson
Report, 1898
A congressionally-sponsored investigation into alternative flood
control methods yielded no change in Mississippi River flood
control policy. Instead, the Nelson report advocated for the
continuation of a levees-only policy for the Lower Mississippi
River.
Mississippi
River flood, 1898
For the first time since the commencement of a continuous levee
line along the Lower Mississippi River, the Mississippi River
flood of 1898, reaching a height of fifty feet at Cairo, Illinois,
was safely discharged to the Gulf of Mexico without a single
break in the levees.
Pearl
button industry crash, 1898
The pearl button industry suffered a temporary crash because
of depletion of the Mississippi River's mussel population.
River
and Harbor Act of 1894
The River and Harbor Act of 1894 authorized the Secretary of
the Army to prescribe rules and regulations for the use, administration,
and navigation of any or all canals and similar works of navigation
owned, operated, or maintained by the United States.
River
and Harbor Act of 1899
The River and Harbor Act of 1899 authorized approval for the
construction of bridges, dams, and dikes across any navigable
water of the United States. The Act also required that structures
built under state authority in a single state needed approval
of the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army. In
addition, the Act prohibited the placing of obstructions to
navigation outside established federal lines and excavating
from, or depositing material in, such waters, unless a permit
for the works had been authorized by the Secretary of the Army.
Chicago
Ship and Sanitary Canal, 1900
The Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal opened in 1900. The 28 mile
canal, built from the south branch of the Chicago River through
the low summit and down to Lockport, Illinois, was used to carry
wastes away from Lake Michigan and to the Mississippi River
through the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers. The canal's flow
was controlled by locks at the mouth of the Chicago River and
at Lockport.
Reclamation
Act of 1902
The Reclamation Act of 1902 established irrigation in the West
as a federal policy. The Act authorized the Secretary of the
Interior to locate, construct, operate, and maintain works for
the storage, diversion, and development of waters for the reclamation
of arid and semi-arid lands in the Western states.
National
interest in waterway development, 1902
Railroad baron James J. Hill declared that shipping on the Upper
Mississippi River had declined so much that the river was no
longer worth improving. Scared cities and business interests
along the river triggered national interest in waterway development.
Mississippi
River flood, 1903
The Mississippi River flood of 1903 once again breached the
levees. According to the Mississippi River Commission, all crevasses
in the line resulted from the "unfinished nature of the
levees as regards both grade and section." The push for
higher levees continued.
River
and Harbor Act of 1906
The River and Harbor Act of 1906 expanded the jurisdiction of
the Mississippi River Commission by authorizing the construction
of levees between the Head of Passes and Cape Girardeau, Missouri,
and extended the Commission's responsibilities for levees above
Cairo, Illinois, to the head of the St. Francis Basin.
Railroad
car shortage, 1906
A railroad car shortage in 1906 left grain rotting at midwestern
terminals. Navigation interests pushed for a six-foot channel
project for the Upper Mississippi River.
River
and Harbor Act of 1907
Despite navigation improvements made to the Upper Mississippi
River System under the 4 1/2-foot channel project, railroads,
which had expanded throughout the Midwest following the Civil
War, still offered greater reliability, and steamboat traffic
declined. Responding to regional and national campaigns for
navigation improvements, Congress, through the River and Harbor
Act of 1907 authorized the Upper Mississippi River navigable
channel be deepened to six feet. To fulfill the task, the Corps
built more wing dams and closing dams, further controlling the
upper section of the river.
Mississippi
floods of 1912 and 1913
In 1912 and 1913, the Mississippi Valley experienced successive
record-breaking floods which precipitate a crisis in the Army
Corps reclamation program. The tremendous expense incurred as
a result of the regular inundation of the Valley, combined with
the cost of building, maintaining, and repairing the levee system,
became counter-prohibitive. Out of self-preservation, landowners
in the valley launched a massive propaganda campaign directed
at obtaining greater federal commitment.
Townsend
Report, 1913
Following the Mississippi River flood of 1913, President Woodrow
Wilson directed the Mississippi River Commission to submit a
report on flood control. The report, authored by Mississippi
River Commission President, Colonel Curtis Townsend, considered
six methods of flood control: reforestation, reservoirs, cut-offs,
outlets, floodways, and levees. As with all previous reports,
the Commission condemned the various alternatives to levees
and advocated for a continuation of policy.
Pearl
button industry peak 1909 - 1916
The pearl button industry peaked in 1909, with 2,600 working
boats. In 1913, mussel tonnage from the Illinois River alone
reached 5,890 tons, and was valued at almost $89,000 ($15/Ton).
At the peak of button-making activity in 1916, midwestern button
manufacturers sold $12.5 million worth of shell buttons.
River
and Harbor Act of 1913
The River and Harbor Act of 1913 expanded the Mississippi River
Commission's jurisdiction up to Rock Island, Illinois, with
certain restrictions.
Keokuk
Lock and Dam completion, 1913
The Army Corps of Engineers completed work on the Keokuk Lock
and Dam, as well as a Powerhouse, as part of an effort to generate
hydro electricity. At the time, it was the largest electric
generating plant in the world. The dam blocked the migration
of skipjack, which were essential to the development of native
mussels.
Ransdell-Humphreys
Act of 1917
The Ransdell-Humphreys Act of 1917, the first federal flood
control act, committed the federal government, for the first
time, to flood control for the Mississippi Valley. The Act also
extended the Mississippi River Commission's jurisdiction to
include water-courses connected with the Mississippi River to
the extent necessary to exclude flood waters from the upper
limits of any delta basins.
Declining
navigation, 1918
Despite the Army Corps channel improvement efforts, navigation
on the Upper Mississippi River continued to decline. By 1918,
virtually no through traffic moved between St. Paul, Minnesota,
and St. Louis, Missouri. Fearing the Midwest would become an
economic backwater without a diverse transportation system,
the regions business and navigation interests initiated another
movement to revive navigation.
Movement
to revive navigation, 1925 - 1930
Between 1925 and 1930, the region's business and navigation
interests fought to restore commerce to the Upper Mississippi.
Supporters, including large and small businesses, major cities,
principal farm organizations, and major political parties, persuaded
Congress to authorize a new project for the river system, one
that would truly compete with railroads.
Flood
Control Act of 1923
The Flood Control Act of 1923 authorized $60 million for levee
construction over a ten-year period for the purpose of completing
the levee system along the Lower Mississippi River.
Inland
Waterways Corporation, 1924
Congress created the Inland Waterways Corporation to promote,
encourage, and develop water transportation, service, as well
as facilities in connection with the commerce of the United
States, and to foster and preserve in full vigor both rail and
water transportation. To fulfill the water transportation provision,
the Corporation operated barges under the name Federal Barge
Lines on the Mississippi-Missouri and Warrior Rivers.
Levee
system complete, 1926
The Mississippi River Commission concluded in its annual report
that the levee system "is now in a condition to prevent
the destructive effects of floods."
River
and Harbor Act of 1927
The River and Harbor Act of 1927 authorized the Army Corps of
Engineers to undertake comprehensive surveys and formulate general
plans for the most effective improvement of navigable streams
and their tributaries, and the prosecution of these improvements
in combination with the development of potential water power,
the control of floods, and the need for irrigation. The surveys,
called "308 reports," established the first comprehensive
river-basin development plans for the nation and provided authority
to the Army Corps of Engineers for surveying and planning navigation
system for inland waters.
Great
Mississippi Flood of 1927
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 devastated the Mississippi
River region. Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, called
the flood "the greatest peace-time calamity in the history
of the country." The Mississippi River Commission's prized
levee system - the culmination of almost fifty years of work
-proved unequal to the task. The high water caused 17 breaks
in the main levee line and 209 crevasses on the tributaries
of the Mississippi. The flood waters overflowed an estimated
11,000,000 acres from Cairo, Illinois, to Natchez, Mississippi,
on the west bank and from the mouth of the Arkansas River to
Vicksburg, Mississippi, on the east bank. In terms of gauge
readings, volume of discharge, and destruction, the flood of
1927 was unprecedented. 246 people died as a result of the flood;
700,000 people were forced from their homes; 1,500,000 farm
animals were destroyed; and the Lower Mississippi Valley, including
parts of seven states, remained flooded for five months. Total
property loss and damage was estimated at between $200 and $400
million, exceeding the aggregate losses of all previous Mississippi
floods.
Flood
Control Act of 1928
Responding to the 1927 flood disaster, Congress overhauled the
flood control plan for the Lower Mississippi River. After much
debate, the Flood Control Act of 1928 was approved, authorizing
the Mississippi River Commission to implement Chief of Engineers,
Major General Edgar Jadwin's plan for controlling floods on
the Lower Mississippi River, including the abandonment of a
levees-only policy and the adoption of a comprehensive flood
control plan using floodways and spillways, as well as levees.
The plan provided for enlarging and strengthening the levees
from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico, with the
objective of safely discharging up to 1,500,000 cubic feet/second
of water within the main channel.
River
and Harbor Act of 1930
The River and Harbor Act of 1930 authorized construction of
a nine-foot channel with a minimum width of 400-feet to accommodate
long-haul, multiple-barge tows between Minneapolis and the mouth
of the Illinois River, and it provided for the construction
of locks and dams. Through the Act, Congress authorized a new
approach to navigation improvements on the Mississippi River.
Rather than narrowing the river and depending solely on the
flow of water from the basin, Congress approved 23 locks and
dams to be built to store water in reservoirs or pools. Only
in this way, the engineers insisted, could they guarantee a
nine-foot channel.
Mississippi
River Commission cut-off policy, 1932
Studies carried out by the newly created Waterways Experiment
Station convinced the Mississippi River Commission to initiate
a series of cutoffs in the middle reaches of the Mississippi
River. Within nine years, 16 such cutoffs shortened the distance
from Memphis, Tennessee, to Vicksburg, Mississippi, by 170 miles
and reduced flood heights along the main channel considerably.
The successful development of these cutoffs marked a new phase
in the evolution of flood-control engineering.
Congressional
Resolution, 1932
Congress passed a resolution requesting an examination and review
of the status and condition of works then in progress, as authorized
by the Flood Control Act of 1928, with a view to determining
if changes or modifications should be made in relation to the
project and its final execution.
Overton-Dear
Act of 1934
The Overton-Dear Act of 1934 resolved the bitter controversy
which had arisen from conflicting interpretations of the Flood
Control Act of 1928. In the Act, the government abandoned its
efforts to compel owners of property along the tributaries of
the Lower Mississippi River to donate levee rights-of-way at
no cost to the government.
Review
of flood works report, 1935
In accordance with the Congressional resolution of 1932, the
Army Corps of Engineers submitted a report to Congress reviewing
the status and condition of works then in progress as authorized
by the Flood Control Act of 1928. The report concluded that
the New Madrid Floodway levees at Cairo, Illinois, were nearly
complete; the Bonnet Carre Spillway at New Orleans, Louisiana,
was essentially complete; and neither of the larger floodways
(Morganza and Boeuf) was yet under construction.
Ohio-Mississippi
River flood, 1937
The Ohio-Mississippi River flood of 1937 forced operation of
the New Madrid floodway at Cairo, Illinois, and the Bonnet Carre
Spillway near New Orleans, Louisiana. The cutoffs initiated
in 1932 along the Mississippi below the mouth of the Arkansas
River accelerated discharges and lowered flood heights by as
much as five feet.
Flood
Control Act of 1938
The Flood Control Act of 1938, in addition to authorizing $375
million in flood control projects for a variety of river basins,
reduced requirements for local contribution in the construction
of reservoirs and facilitated the construction of headwater
projects on many of the major tributaries of the Mississippi
River, including the Upper Mississippi River.
Mississippi
River Commission resolution, 1938
The Mississippi River Commission passed a resolution directing
the various districts to begin the construction of gravel roads
on the levee crowns. Previously, the Commission had discouraged
any motorized travel on the levees because the weight of vehicles
might contribute to the sinking of the levees. However, responses
to the great flood of 1937 had been hampered by the difficulty
of transporting materials to critical areas.
Outbreak of World War II, 1940
The outbreak of World War II, promoted the recovery of the national
economy, and substantially increased Mississippi River commerce.
Unimpeded navigation also became essential for military operations;
almost 4,000 Army and Navy craft moved from inland shipyards
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
Completion
of 9-foot channel, 1940
The Army Corps of Engineers completed the nine-foot channel
project (locks and dam 3-26). Twenty-six locks and dams now
crossed the river between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Alton,
Illinois. The project resulted in a series of lake-like river
pools, greatly reducing the ability of rock channel-training
structures to direct flow and hold sediment.
Flood
Control Act of 1941
At the request of the Arkansas delegation, Congress removed
plans for construction of the Eudora Floodway from the Mississippi
River Commission's series of projects in favor of higher levees.
The Flood Control Act of 1941 also authorized the Yazoo Backwater
Project to protect the Delta area of Mississippi from the increased
stages. The project included a combination of levees, drainage
structures, and pumps.
Congressional
resolution, 1943
The House Flood Control Committee and the Senate Committee on
Commerce passed a resolution calling on the Army Corps' Chief
of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission to submit
a report on the feasibility of amending the navigation provisions
of the Flood Control Act of 1928, with specific reference to
increasing channel depths from nine to 12-feet from Cairo, Illinois,
to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Mississippi
River flood, 1943
During the flood of 1943, the Mississippi River reached its
second highest level in recorded history. Cape Girardeau, Illinois
recorded a level of 42.3 feet.
Mississippi
River Commission report, 1944
At the request of Congress, the Mississippi River Commission
released its report on the feasibility of increasing channel
depths below Cairo, Illinois. After thorough analysis, the Commission
concluded that stabilization efforts already underway, together
with additional dredging, might be enough to provide a 12-foot
deep channel below Cairo, Illinois.
Flood
Control Act of 1944
Based on the Mississippi River Commission report, the Flood
Control Act of 1944 authorized approximately 150 additional
projects throughout the nation at a cost of $750 million, including
approval for a 12-foot channel in the Mississippi River between
Cairo, Illinois, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as a $200
million stabilization program. The Act also required all subsequent
navigation and flood control projects be subject to the approval
of the affected states. In addition, the Act articulated a new
policy for the development of recreation facilities at reservoirs,
stipulating that public reservoirs be open for public use without
charge for boating, swimming, bathing, fishing, and other recreational
purposes. This new responsibility represented an important step
toward multi-purpose development of the nation's water resources.
Rivers
and Harbor Act of 1945
The Rivers and Harbor Act of 1945 authorized construction of
Lock 27 and the Chain of Rocks Canal, Missouri.
Atchafalaya
Basin study, 1950
A major Army Corps of Engineer study determined that, without
interference of some kind, Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin would
capture the Mississippi River by 1975. To prevent this, the
Army Corps urged Congress to authorize the construction of a
controlled connection along the Old River, and to regulate the
volume of water allowed into the Atchafalaya Basin.
Mississippi
River Commission report, 1954
The Mississippi River Commission reported that its flood control
efforts had progressed to the point that most of the inhabitants
of the Mississippi Valley were now safe from a 1927-caliber
flood. Seventy-five percent of the bank revetment had been completed,
and only 250 miles of main-line levees remained unfinished.
Rivers
and Harbors Act of 1958
The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1958 authorized Dam 27, a low-water,
rock-filled dam, and other bank improvements to support navigation
below old Lock and Dam 26.
Flood
Control Act of 1960
To discourage further encroachment on the flood plains, Congress
in the Flood Control Act of 1960 authorized the Corps of Engineers
to compile and disseminate information on floods and flood damage,
to identify areas subject to overflow, and to present general
criteria for guidance in the use of flood plain areas.
River
and Harbor Act of 1960
The River and Harbor Act of 1960 provided authority for the
Army Corps of Engineers to develop and construct small navigation
projects.
Rivers
and Harbor Act of 1962
The Rivers and Harbor Act of 1962 authorized construction of
the Kaskaskia River Navigation Project, including the Kaskaskia
Lock and Dam and channelization from the mouth of the river
to Fayetteville, Illlinois.
Completion
of Old River control structures, 1963
The Army Corps completed construction and began operation of
a controlled connection along the Old River, as authorized by
Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1954.
River
and Harbor and Flood Control Act of 1965
The River and Harbor and Flood Control Act of 1965 authorized
150 Army Corps projects or project modifications at an estimated
cost of $2 billion, including a long-range master plan for stabilizing
the Mississippi River between Cairo, Illinois, and Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, to facilitate the establishment of a 12-foot channel
depth.
Locks
and dam completion, 1965
The Army Corps of Engineers completed work on a system of 29
locks and dams along a 650-mile portion of the Mississippi River,
north of St. Louis, Missouri, creating the present-day slack
water navigation system for the Upper Mississippi River. The
purpose of the Army Corps' operated locks and dam system was
to enable river traffic to navigate the changes in elevation
along the river and to maintain the nine-foot channel depth,
as well as to control floods. Though previous projects had deepened
channels and directed flow to the center of channels, the locks
and dams turned the Upper Mississippi River into a series of
slack water pools at low and normal flows. Completion of the
locks and dams marked a turning point in the Upper Mississippi
River's hydrology and ecology.
Replacement
of the locks at Dam 26, 1968
Due to increasing congestion at Lock and Dam 26, the District
Engineer of the Army Corps' St. Louis District recommended replacement
of the locks at Dam 26 and construction of a new dam and 1,200-foot
locks at Alton, Illinois. The project, approved by the Army
Corps of Engineers, received several appropriations through
1975.
Hypoxia
in the Gulf of Mexico, 1970s
Dramatic changes to Mississippi River nutrient concentrations
and loadings to the adjacent continental shelf over the course
of the 20th century resulted in the occurrence of zones of severe
oxygen depletion, known as Hypoxia, in the Gulf of Mexico. Studies
revealed that nitrogen was the principal nutrient responsible
for the zones. The majority of Mississippi River nitrogen originated
from agricultural practices, while smaller fractions arose from
human sewage, nonagricultural fertilizer use, and precipitation.
Flood
Control Act of 1970
The Flood Control Act of 1970 authorized the Army Corps of Engineers
to review the operation of its projects in the Upper Mississippi
River-Illinois Waterway System in the interest of navigation,
flood control, water supply, and related purposes; and to report
to Congress with recommendations on the advisability of modifying
the structures or their operations and for improving the quality
of the environment in the overall public interest.
Mississippi
River flood, 1973
The Mississippi River flood of 1973 caused widespread damage,
resulting in 23 deaths, and a record 62 days-out-of-bank. Total
cost of the flood was estimated at $183 million.
Inland
Waterways Authorization Act, 1978
The Inland Waterways Authorization Act of 1978 authorized replacement
of Lock and Dam 26 with a new dam and a single lock, established
an inland waterway user tax, created the Inland Waterways Trust
Fund, and directed the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission
to prepare a comprehensive master plan for the management of
the Upper Mississippi River.
Comprehensive
Master Plan for the Upper Mississippi River System, 1982
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission presented its findings
to the Congressional study authorized in 1978 related to further
navigation capacity expansion and its ecological impacts in
a landmark document, the Comprehensive Master Plan for the Management
of the Upper Mississippi River System. Among other things, the
Master Plan recommended that Congress authorize a second lock,
600-feet in length, at Lock and Dam 26 and exclude the second
lock from further action under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969; a habitat rehabilitation and enhancement program;
a long-term resource monitoring program; a computerized inventory
and analysis system; recreation projects; and a study of the
economic impacts of recreation.
Supplemental
Appropriation Act of 1985
The Supplemental Appropriation Act of 1985 authorized construction
of a 600-by-110-foot auxiliary lock and Lock and Dam 26.
Army
Corps of Engineers' General Plan, 1986
The Comprehensive Master Plan prepared by the Upper Mississippi
River Basin Commission was relatively conceptual in nature.
To guide implementation, the Army Corps of Engineers published
a foundational document entitled the General Plan. Release of
the document was followed by six Annual Addendums, each of which
provided programmatic and policy updates, individual project
status reports, and recommendations for out-year funding and
schedules.
Water
Resources Development Act of 1986
The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 defined the Upper
Mississippi River as a "nationally significant ecosystem
and a nationally significant commercial navigation system."
The Act authorized key elements of the Upper Mississippi River
Basin Commission's Comprehensive Master Plan, including both
a second lock at Lock and Dam 26, as well as a variety of environmental
initiatives on the Upper Mississippi River.
Upper
Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway Navigation Study, 1988
The Army Corps of Engineers released its initial appraisal regarding
navigation traffic capacity increases on the Upper Mississippi
River-Illinois Waterway. The appraisal recommended developing
a plan of study to investigate a long-term solution in order
to meet increased navigation demands and to reduce delays for
commercial traffic on the system.
Plan
of Study for Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway navigation,
1989
The Army Corps of Engineers completed its Plan of Study for
the Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway navigation feasibility
investigation. The document recommended undertaking two separate
navigation reconnaissance studies for investigating potential
navigation improvements, one for the Illinois Waterway, the
other for the Upper Mississippi River. Specific investigations
included defining the base condition, analyzing congestion problems,
determining system benefits, and examining environmental impacts.
The objective of the reconnaissance-level investigation was
to begin the process of establishing prioritized, waterway-specific
capital investment recommendations, including efficiency measures
that were required to meet future traffic demand.
Completion
of Lock and Dam 26, 1990
The Army Corps of Engineers completed work on replacement of
Lock and Dam 26 with a single 110-foot by 1,200-foot lock chamber.
The project, authorized in 1978, was named the Melvin Price
Locks and Dam.
Navigation
reconnaissance studies, 1991
The Army Corps of Engineers completed the Upper Mississippi
River and Illinois Waterway navigation reconnaissance studies
for investigating potential navigation improvements. The studies
concluded that there was economic feasibility for major capital
improvements between 2000 and 2050, and recommended performing
more detailed systemic feasibility level environmental, engineering,
and economic studies.
Upper
Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Reconnaissance study, 1991
The Army Corps of Engineers combined the Illinois Waterway and
Upper Mississippi River navigation reconnaissance studies into
one feasibility study offering a systems approach for solving
navigation problems common to both rivers. The systems approach
included environmental studies for the reconstruction and expansion
of Locks and Dam 26 (near St. Louis) needed to address navigation
traffic impacts, at a cost of over $1 billion.
Zebra
mussels, 1991
Zebra mussels invaded the Upper Mississippi River via the Illinois
River tributary and were first recorded in 1991. Their populations
expanded rapidly, and by mid-1993 the mussels were found throughout
most of the Upper and Lower Mississippi River, with average
densities of zebra mussels in the Lower Illinois River more
than 50,000 per square meter.
Initial
Project Management Plan, 1992 - 1993
The Army Corps of Engineers completed its Initial Project Management
Plan for the feasibility phase of the navigation study. The
Plan outlined a multi-disciplined approach to detailed investigations,
and was initiated the following year.
Great
Flood of 1993
The Great Flood of 1993 resulted in catastrophic damages throughout
much of the Upper Mississippi River System. 47 deaths were attributed
to the flood, damages exceeded $15 billion, 74,000 people were
evacuated, and 72,000 homes were damaged.
Completion
of second lock at Lock and Dam 26, 1994
As authorized by the Supplemental Appropriation Act of 1985
and the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, the Army Corps
of Engineers completed construction of a second 110-foot by
600-foot lock at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam.
Army
Corps of Engineers feasibility study, 1998
Though initially envisioned as a six-year effort, the Army Corps
of Engineers' concluded that the environmental, economic, and
engineering studies component of its feasibility study would
take longer than originally anticipated. The Army Corps divided
research and planning efforts for the study into economics,
engineering, environmental/historic properties, project management/plan
formulation, and public involvement. Public meetings were held,
federal and state agencies were consulted, and a Governors'
Liaison Committee was formed.
Water
Resources Development Act of 1999
The Water Resources Development Act of 1999 authorized the Upper
Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan. The Act required that
the Army Corp of Engineers develop a plan to address water resource
and related land resource problems and opportunities in the
Upper Mississippi River-Illinois waterway in the interest of
the systemic flood damage reduction by means of structural and
non-structural flood control and floodplain management strategies;
continued maintenance of the navigation project; management
of bank caving and erosion; watershed nutrient and sediment
management; habitat management; and recreation needs. The Act
also required that the plan include recommendations on management
plans and actions to be carried out by the responsible federal
and non-federal entities; specifically, it authorized construction
of a systemic flood control project and recommendations for
follow-on studies for problem areas for which data or current
technology did not allow immediate solution. The Act required
the Army Corps of Engineers to report to Congress within three
years.
Draft Feasibility study, 2000
The Army Corps of Engineers issued its draft feasibility study
for the Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway navigation
system and scheduled release of its final report sometime after
June of 2001. However, the study was temporarily halted in February
of 2001 in response to concerns over assumptions and methods
used in the economics portion of the study and the extent to
which the environmental impacts of navigation system operation
and maintenance had been addressed. The U.S. Department of Defense
asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)-via the Water Science
and Technology and Transportation Boards of the National Research
Council-to assess the integrity of the study and to complete
a policy review of data and methodologies. In addition to criticizing
the economic models and traffic forecasts underlying the Navigation
Study's assessment of the need for lock and dam upgrade and
expansion, the initial NAS report recommended that any future
version of the study give equal weight to the ecosystem restoration
measures needed to ensure the environmental sustainability of
the river system.
Draft
Project Management Plan for the Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive
Plan, 2002
The Army Corps of Engineers released its Draft Project Management
Plan for the Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan, presenting
a plan of study that mets the requirements of Section 459 of
the Water Resources Development Act of 1999. Prepared for submission
to Congress for approval as a framework for implementation of
a systemic flood damage reduction and associated water resources
project, the Comprehensive Plan was required to include component
projects that made up the systemic plan and be based upon a
study completion date of July 2004, with submission of the recommended
plan and Report to Congress in December 2004.
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History
of Restoration Actions (1888-1986)
Below
is a timeline of restoration-related events and activities,
prior to the establishment of the UMR System Environment Management
Program in 1986:
River
and Harbor Act of 1888
Congress approved the River and Harbor Act of 1888 authorizing
the construction of fishways whenever federal river and harbor
improvements obstruct the passage of fish.
River
and Harbor Act of 1890
Congress passed the River and Harbor Act of 1890 prohibiting
the discharge into navigable waters of wastes that impede or
obstruct navigation, except under permit from the Secretary
of the Army.
Rivers
and Harbor Act of 1899
Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 giving authority
to the Army Corps of Engineers to regulate the dumping of pollutants
in navigable streams.
Inland
Waterways Commission, 1907
President Theodore Roosevelt, leading a burgeoning conservationist
movement, appointed the Inland Waterways Commission. The Commission
was charged with developing a national policy for river regulation
and with making recommendations for the improvement of the national
system of waterways. A report released in 1908 by the Commission
advocated the creation of a permanent commission to coordinate
the various federal agencies responsible for regulating the
nation's water resources, including the Army Corps of Engineers,
the Bureau of Soils, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Corporations,
and the Reclamation Service; the report also ordered the commission
to consider, among other things, all matters of irrigation,
swamp and overflow land reclamation, and flood control. The
Mississippi River Commission strongly opposed creation of a
permanent commission and, together with its allies in Congress,
delayed the establishment of a permanent Inland Waterways Commission
for a full decade.
Upper
Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge Act of 1924
Congress approved the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish
Refuge Act of 1924, authorizing the acquisition and development
of more than 200,000 acres of floodplain for the Upper Mississippi
River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The Act also provided administrative
direction, including assurance that refuge operations would
not interfere with maintenance of navigation of the river or
other works of improvement.
Concern
over nine-foot channel project, 1930
Authorization for the construction of a nine-foot channel between
Minneapolis and the mouth of the Illinois River raised widespread
concern about the project's biological impacts. In numerous
pronouncements, the Isaac Walton League condemned the project;
other advocates asserted that the project would be a gigantic
commercial failure, would be impossible to maintain without
spending millions of dollars each year in dredging operations,
would completely destroy bass fishing on the river, and would
wipe out the area's scenic attraction. Many observers also expressed
concern that soil erosion would constitute a severe problem
in the proposed navigation pools, predicting that pools would
be completely filled with sand in a period of 20 years. The
US Bureau of Fisheries also viewed the nine-foot channel project
with serious misgivings, stating that the establishment of a
series of slack water pools along the Upper Mississippi River
could lead to the eventual elimination of all fish life.
Creation
of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission, 1938
Mississippi River states established the Mississippi River Parkway
Commission, a multi-state organization comprised of members
from each of the ten states that border the Mississippi River,
to facilitate development of the Great River Road Parkway.
Establishment
of Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, 1943
State and federal fish and wildlife biologists and administrators
established the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee,
consisting of 22 fisheries biologists. The Committee's goal
was to encourage cooperative surveys and studies of conditions
of national and interstate concern affecting conservation, wildlife,
and recreational interests of the Upper Mississippi River.
Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958
Congress passed the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958,
authorizing that fish and wildlife conservation receive consideration
equal to that of other project purposes and be coordinated with
other features of water resource development.
Forest
Conservation Act of 1960
Congress approved the Forest Conservation Act of 1960, authorizing
the Army Corps of Engineers to provide for the protection and
development of forest and other vegetative cover, and for the
establishment and maintenance of other conservation measures
at all Army Corps projects.
Establishment
of the Minnesota Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, 1965
The states of Minnesota and Wisconsin established the Minnesota
Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission to resolve and address water
resource related issues on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers.
Consisting five commissioners from each state, the Commission
studied; made recommendations; coordinated intergovernmental
activities; and provided public information on the use, development,
and protection of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers that
form the interstate border.
Water
Resources Planning Act of 1965
The Water Resources Planning Act of 1965 established a Water
Resources Council composed of Cabinet representatives in order
to maintain a continuing assessment of the adequacy of water
supplies in each region of the U.S., and to establish principles
and standards for federal participants in the preparation of
river basin plans and in evaluating federal water projects.
The Act also established river basin commissions, including
the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission, and stipulated
their duties and authorities. In addition, the Act established
a grant program to assist states in participating in the development
of related comprehensive water and land use plans.
National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 authorized preparation
of the environmental impact statement as an integral element
of the Army Corps of Engineers' pre-authorization process on
all projects and permit-granting activities. In addition, the
Act instructed the Army Corps to take into consideration the
sociological, cultural, biological, demographic, and economic
effects and to consult with local, state, and federal agencies,
as well as concerned citizen groups, in the process of producing
environmental impact statements.
Hypoxia
in the Gulf of Mexico, 1970s
Growing awareness of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone led to
research and the realization that the Upper Mississippi River
System needed to take efforts to address the downstream problem
of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental
Quality Improvement Act of 1970
The Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970 provided for
the submission and promulgation of guidelines for considering
possible adverse economic, social, and environmental effects
of proposed projects, and it expressed Congress' intent that
federally-financed water resource projects incorporate the objectives
of economic development; the quality of the total environment,
including its protection and improvement; the well-being of
the people; and the national economic development.
Federal
Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
Complementary to the Environmental Quality Improvement Act of
1970, the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 created guidelines
affecting standards applied by the Army Corps of Engineers in
its environmental impact statements, as well as reinforced the
Army Corps' perceptions of changing national priorities.
Great
River Environmental Action Team, 1974
Under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Commission, concerned state and federal agencies, quasi-public
interest groups and private citizens formed the Great River
Environmental Action Team. The action team represented the varied
interests of the region in the development of comprehensive
and innovative plans to guarantee the river's future use by
all. The major objective of Great River Environmental Action
Team was to develop a resource management plan for the river
that will incorporate, in a balanced manner, total river resource
requirements, including commercial navigation, fish and wildlife,
water quality management, and public recreation. The study effort
was divided into three separate but related reaches of the Mississippi
River: Great River Environmental Action Team I, which incorporated
the reach of the river from the head of navigation at Minneapolis-St.
Paul, Minnesota, to Guttenberg, Iowa; Great River Environmental
Action Team II, which incorporated the reach of the river from
Guttenberg, Iowa, to Lock and Dam 22 at Saverton, Missouri;
and Great River Environmental Action Team III, which incorporated
the reach of the river from Saverton, Missouri, to the confluence
with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois.
Litigation,
1975
The Izaak Walton League, Sierra Club, and 21 western railroads
filed lawsuits to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from beginning
construction of the locks and dam 26. The suit contended that
the Army Corps did not receive due Congressional authorization;
the environmental impact statement did not consider system effects;
and that the Corps had ignored the objectives of the national
economic development and environmental quality requirements,
improperly and inadequately assessed project costs and benefits,
and failed to consider feasible alternatives. The litigation
sparked major national and congressional debate.
Inland
Waterways Authorization Act, 1978
Seeking to balance environmental and stakeholder concern over
construction of the locks and dam 26 with the navigation system
needs, Congress through the Inland Waterways Authorization Act
of 1978 authorized construction of a new dam with a single,
1,200 foot lock, and directed the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Commission to conduct studies and make recommendations related
to further navigation capacity expansion and its ecological
impacts.
Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 provided funds
to states to conduct inventories and conservation plans for
conservation of non-game wildlife. The Act also encouraged federal
departments and agencies to use their statutory and administrative
authority to conserve and promote conservation.
Establishment
of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, 1981
President Reagan issued an Executive Order abolishing the Upper
Mississippi River Basin Commission, along with all other basin
commission. In turn, Governors of the five affected states (Illinois,
Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin) signed a joint resolution
calling for "the continuation of an interstate organization
to maintain communication and cooperation among the states on
matters related to water planning and management," and
they established the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association
to coordinate inter-agency water resources planning and to further
the implementation of the recommendations of the Master Plan
study.
Comprehensive
Master Plan for the Upper Mississippi River System, 1982
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission presented its findings
to the Congressional study authorized in 1978 related to further
navigation capacity expansion and its ecological impacts in
a landmark document, the Comprehensive Master Plan for the Management
of the Upper Mississippi River System. Among other things, the
Master Plan recommended that Congress authorize a second lock,
600-feet in length, at Lock and Dam 26 and exclude the second
lock from further action under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969; a habitat rehabilitation and enhancement program;
a long term resource monitoring program; a computerized inventory
and analysis system; recreation projects; and a study of the
economic impacts of recreation.
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Recent
Restoration Activities (1986-present)
Below
is a timeline of events establishing and implementing restoration
activities in the Upper Mississippi River System since 1986:
Water
Resources Development Act of 1986
The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 authorized key recommendations
of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission's Comprehensive
Master Plan, including both a second lock at Lock and Dam 26
and a variety of environmental initiatives. The environmental
initiatives constituted the original programmatic elements of
what was later to become known as the Environmental Management
Program. Specifically, Section 1103 of the Act authorized the
Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Interior, and the
states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin
to initiate a program for the planning, construction, and evaluation
of measures for fish and wildlife habitat rehabilitation and
enhancement; a long term resource monitoring program; a computerized
inventory and analysis system; a program of recreational projects;
an assessment of the economic benefits generated by recreational
activities; and monitoring of traffic movements. Other provisions
of Section 1103 provided both context and statutory direction
regarding implementation of the Environmental Management Program.
Of particular note were the provisions that expressed Congress'
desire to ensure the coordinated development and enhancement
of the Upper Mississippi River System; its declaration that
the river was a "nationally significant ecosystem and a
nationally significant commercial navigation system;" the
definition of the Upper Mississippi River System as the commercially
navigable portions of the Mississippi River north of Cairo,
Illinois, and the Minnesota, Black, Saint Croix, Illinois, and
Kaskaskia Rivers; and its clarification that none of the appropriations
for the habitat, monitoring, or computerized information and
analysis programs should be considered chargeable to navigation.
Mississippi
National River and Recreation Area, 1988
Congress passed an Act to provide for the designation and conservation
of certain lands in the states of Arizona and Idaho, and for
other purposes" designating a 72-mile corridor along the
Upper Mississippi River between Dayton, Minnesota, and Hastings,
Minnesota, as the Mississippi National River and Recreation
Area.
Water
Resources Development Act of 1990
The Water Resources Development Act of 1990 amended the original
Environmental Management Program authorizing legislation in
Section 1103 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986
by extending the original EMA authorization period an additional
five years, through fiscal 2002.
Creation
of the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association,
1991
State natural resource agencies formed the Mississippi Interstate
Cooperative Resources Association in order to improve the conservation,
development, management, and utilization of interjurisdictional
fishery resources (both recreational and commercial) in the
Mississippi River Basin through improved coordination and communication
among the responsible management entities. Member states included
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West
Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division, Chickasaw
Indian Nation, and Chippewa-Cree Indian Tribe were also association
members.
Water
Resources Development Act of 1992
The Water Resources Development Act of 1992 once again amended
the original Environmental Management Program authorizing legislation
by allowing some limited flexibility in how funds were allocated
between the Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects
program and the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program and by
changing the Environmental Management Program cost sharing provisions
to assign sole responsibility for operation and maintenance
of habitat projects to the agency that managed the lands on
which the project was located.
Environmental
Management Program Midterm Evaluation Report, 1992
The Army Corps of Engineers prepared a Midterm Evaluation Report
setting forth Environmental Management Program accomplishments
and recommending continued funding.
Water
Quality Initiative for the Upper Mississippi, 1992
The states of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association
initiated a Water Quality Initiative to examine comprehensive
strategies for sedimentation and toxic pollution. The Initiative
identified a series of strategic steps necessary for ultimately
fashioning a regional water quality protection program, beginning
with the establishment of specific reduction goals followed
by the identification and prioritization of sources of pollution.
Nutrient
Enhanced Coastal Ocean Productivity Study, 1990-1995
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expanded
research on hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico through a Nutrient
Enhanced Coastal Ocean Productivity Study. The study helped
foster communication among scientists, advisory groups, and
review panels (including the National Research Council) about
hypoxia in the Gulf, and it raised public interest and attention
about the issue.
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund petition to U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1995
Leading a group of 17 stakeholders, the Sierra Club Legal Defense
Fund petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the Governor of Louisiana to convene a hypoxia management conference
under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. In coordination with
other agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded
by initiating an exchange of scientific knowledge and public
information through a series of workshops and symposia. Conferences
held in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Davenport, Iowa, conveyed
information on the dynamics and effects of hypoxia, links to
nutrient loads from the Mississippi River System, and management
activities under way in the basin. Soon after, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency convened meetings of high-ranking federal
officials to start the policy dialogue and asked the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy to conduct what would
become an assessment of hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
National
Invasive Species Act of 1996
The National Invasive Species Act authorized the Army Corps
of Engineers to investigate and identify environmentally-sound
methods for preventing and reducing the dispersal of aquatic
nuisance species between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi
River drainage through the Chicago River Ship and Sanitary Canal.
Environmental
Management Program Evaluation Report, 1997
The 1997 Environmental Management Program Evaluation Report
described the accomplishments of the Program's first 12 years,
set forth the partner agencies' vision of the Program's future,
and described the broad public support that the Program enjoys.
The report also included a variety of additional recommendations
that could be accomplished by changes to Army Corps policy or
the resolve of all Environmental Management Program partner
agencies. Specifically, in the report, the Army Corps of Engineers
recommended that a Habitat Needs Assessment be conducted for
the Upper Mississippi River, representing the first systemic
attempt at quantifying habitat needs and restoration goals to
address the cumulative ecological impacts of human actions in
the River's floodplain and watershed.
Harmful
Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998
The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act
codified development of the integrated hypoxia assessment and
established an interagency task force to deliver an action plan
for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in the northern
Gulf of Mexico. The plan included incentive-based partnership
approaches, as well as social and economic costs and benefits
of the measures for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia.
States, Indian tribes, local governments, academic, agricultural,
industry, and environmental groups and representatives were
to be consulted in plan development.
Water
Resources Development Act of 1999
The Water Resources Development Act of 1999 authorized the Upper
Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan, requiring the Army Corp
of Engineers to develop a plan to address water resource and
related land resource problems and opportunities in the Upper
Mississippi River - Illinois waterway in the interest of systemic
flood damage reduction by means of flood control and floodplain
management strategies; continued maintenance of the navigation
project; management of bank caving and erosion; watershed nutrient
and sediment management; habitat management; and recreation
needs. The Act also reauthorized the Environmental Management
Program, increased its annual authorized appropriations by 75
percent, and established two elements as continuing authorities:
planning, construction, and evaluation of fish and wildlife
habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects; and long term
resource monitoring, computerized data inventory and analysis,
and applied research. In addition, the Act changed the Program's
cost sharing requirements, called for an Environmental Management
Program independent technical advisory committee, and directed
that a habitat needs assessment by completed.
Completion
of Integrated Hypoxia Assessment, 2000
Scientists completed the integrated hypoxia assessment. The
peer-reviewed reports detailed the distribution, dynamics, and
causes of Gulf hypoxia; the ecological and economic consequences;
sources and loads of nutrients transported by the Mississippi
River to the Gulf of Mexico; effects of reducing nutrient loads;
methods for reducing nutrient loads; and the social and economic
costs and benefits of such methods. The reports sparked considerable
debate on the degree to which the Mississippi River contributed
nitrogen in the Gulf.
Upper
Mississippi Basin Conservation Act of 2000
Representative Ron Kind introduced the Upper Mississippi Basin
Conservation Act. The bipartisan legislation established a coordinated,
interagency approach to reducing sediment and nutrient runoff
into the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries based on
sound science.
National
Academy of Sciences report, 2001
The National Academy of Sciences released its report recommending
improvements to three key areas of the Army Corps of Engineers'
navigation study: the traffic forecasting model, the study's
focus on lock expansion, and better integration of economics
and engineering considerations with environmental and social
factors. The report suggested that because the draft feasibility
study framed the issue of managing waterway traffic and expanding
locks in terms of commodity shipments and infrastructure investments,
it too narrowly represented the commercial interests along the
river and relegated environmental issues to discussions of side
effects that require mitigation. A general lack of data on the
ecological status of the Upper Mississippi River pointed to
the need for an improved assessment study of the system-wide
and cumulative impacts of the existing navigation system on
Upper Mississippi River ecosystems. The report identified the
Army Corps of Engineers-administered Environmental Management
Program as the vehicle for conducting ecological studies and
studies on navigational impacts.
Hypoxia
Action Plan, 2001
As debate over responsibility for nitrogen loadings continues,
the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Task Force met seven times
to develop the Hypoxia Action Plan. The Action Plan was finally
delivered to Congress in 2001. The Plan outlined an ambitious
restoration strategy for improving water quality and restoring
habitat throughout the Mississippi River watershed and highlighted
the need for voluntary, incentive-based approaches for achieving
goals, such as reducing nonpoint source pollution and nitrogen-loading
in the Mississippi River. In addition, the Plan established
the goal of reducing the size of the "dead zone" by
half by 2015; called for the development of strategies to reduce
nutrients entering the Gulf, particularly the amount of nitrogen,
by 30 percent; and recommended continued research and monitoring
to better understand the problem.
Upper
Mississippi Basin Conservation Act of 2001
Representative Ron Kind re-introduced the Upper Mississippi
Basin Conservation Act. The bipartisan legislation established
a coordinated, interagency approach to reducing sediment and
nutrient runoff into the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries
based on sound science.
Restructured
feasibility study, 2001
Following release of the National Academy of Sciences report,
the Army Corps of Engineers announced its intent to delay the
navigation study to allow time to evaluate the comments and
determine a new course of action. The Army Corps solicited help
in this endeavor by forming a Federal Principals Task Force,
made up of senior members of the Department of Interior, Department
of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The task force's focus was to provide a national
level balance and guidance on important economic and environmental
issues related to the National Academy of Sciences study recommendations.
A counterpart-working group, defined as the Regional Interagency
Work Group, also was established to help guide the future of
the navigation study at the local level.
Draft
Interim Report for the Restructured Navigation Feasibility Study,
2002
The Army Corps of Engineers issued its draft interim report
for the feasibility study. The most striking element of the
refocused draft report was the proposed "systemic authority."
A systemic authority would mean a unified funding mechanism
that treated navigation improvements with mitigation and restoration.
The draft interim report also identified several preliminary
navigation alternatives along the Upper Mississippi River, including
no action, charging congestion fees for commercial traffic,
traffic scheduling, moorings at various locations, and various
combinations of guidewall extensions and new locks. The report
also suggested several restoration alternatives.
Upper
Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2003
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2003 called
for the establishment of a sediment and nutrient monitoring
network as part of the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative.
The purpose of the monitoring network was to identify and evaluate
significant sources of sediment and nutrients in the basin;
quantify the processes affecting mobilization, transport, and
fate of the sediments and nutrients on land and in water; quantify
the transport of sediments and nutrients to and through the
Upper Mississippi River basin; record changes to sediment and
nutrient loss over time; provide coordinated data to be used
in computer modeling of the Basins; and identify major sources
of sediment and nutrients within the Basin. Though the bill
passed the House, there was little action in the Senate.
Environmental
Management Program Report to Congress, 2004
The Army Corps of Engineers submitted its second report to Congress
on the Environmental Management Program in fulfillment of Section
1103 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. The report
evaluated and recommended modifications to enhance the Program
in its present form, regardless of what future modifications
may be considered. The report concluded that the Environmental
Management Program had contributed significantly to the environmental
sustainability of the Upper Mississippi River System; employed
an adaptive management approach to river management and restoration;
was part of an integrated approach to addressing Upper Mississippi
River ecosystem needs; was partnering with other programs to
enhance its effectiveness and leverage resources; had pioneered
new techniques and contributed substantially to state-of-the-art
in ecosystem restoration and monitoring of large river systems;
was consistent with, and was a pre-cursor to, several important
national policies and regional approaches related to large river
system; and had effectively and efficiently utilized federal
appropriations to meet program objectives.
Pre-Conference
Report for the Navigation Feasibility Study, 2004
The Army Corps of Engineers released its Alternative Formulation
Briefing Pre-Conference Report for Navigation Feasibility Study.
The report's purpose was to provide a concise overview of the
study, focusing on the Plan formulation process that had been
followed to create viable alternatives and ultimately identify
tentatively-selected plans for navigation efficiency and ecosystem
restoration. The goal was to identify and resolve any relevant
policy concerns that would otherwise delay or preclude approval
of the Draft Feasibility Report. The report's draft tentatively-selected
plans were still works in progress and no final decisions had
been made. A draft recommended plan would ultimately be presented
in the future draft feasibility report.
Final
Integrated Feasibility Report and Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement for the UMR-IWW System Navigation Feasibility
Study and Chief's Report, 2004
In the Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Chief's Report,
the Corps recommended a 50-year ecosystem restoration plan (Alternative
D) at a cost of approximately $5.72 billion. It proposed that
Congress authorize an initial installment of the plan for an
estimated 225 projects with a cost of $1.58 billion. These projects
would include fish passages, island building and protection,
water level management, backwater restoration, side channel
restoration, wing dam and dike alteration, and shoreline protection.
The Corps proposed 100-percent federal funding for all projects
that modify structures and operations of the existing navigation
system (the "nine-foot navigation project"), fall
within the National Refuge System, or effect backwater areas
connected to the main river channel within the Ordinary High
Water line.
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Restoration
Plans
In
the 1986 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), Congress designated
the UMR as a "nationally significant ecosystem and a nationally
significant commercial navigation system," making it the
only inland river in the United States to have such a designation.
Since then, momentum has been building to address the consequences
of spending billions on navigation improvements but only a fraction
of that on ecosystem restoration efforts in the UMR system.
Several
large-scale ecosystem restoration and environmental protection
initiatives are underway in the UMR basin. These activities
are occurring at different geographic scales - from the UMR
channel, to riparian wetlands and bottomland forests, to the
management of lands across large sub-basins within the Mississippi
River watershed - and are managed by both federal and state
entities.
Within the
river and floodplain system, the most significant of these is
the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway Navigation
Study (Navigation Study). The recently finalized 50-year, $5.72-billion
ecosystem restoration plan builds on previous restoration planning
and implementation work through the UMR Environmental Management
Program, the UMR Refuge system, and state pool-planning efforts.
Within the
broader watershed, most of which consists of private lands in
agricultural production, the Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating,
and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Hypoxia
Action Plan) and the continuing implementation of USDA conservation
programs constitute the primary landscape-level efforts to improve
environmental management of private agricultural lands. The
Hypoxia Action Plan has initiated a planning process, but the
degree of federal and state support needed to move this process
forward has yet to materialize. At the same time, spending has
increased significantly through the USDA conservation programs
reauthorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. There is, however, very
little coordination or assessment of the impacts of these programs
on a basin-wide scale.
i.
River and Floodplain Restoration Activities
Environmental
Management Program
Section 1103 the 1986 WRDA established the Upper Mississippi
River System Environmental Management Program (EMP) and authorized
a series of ecosystem monitoring and restoration activities
that would be undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in partnership with the Department of Interior and the states
of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
The EMP
has two main parts: the Habitat Rehabilitation Enhancement Project
(HREP) program and the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program
(LTRMP). The HREP program is managed by the Corps, in consultation
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and state natural
resource agencies. Though HREP the Corps and its partners plan,
design, construct, and maintain habitat restoration projects
in the UMR. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), working through
the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center and six state-managed
field stations, manages the LTRMP. The goals of the LTRMP are
to improve the understanding of the UMR ecosystem and its problems;
to monitor long-term trends and impacts to selected resources;
to maintain and disseminate scientific information about the
river system; and to provide support products and management
options for improving management of the river.
Since its
inception, the EMP has completed 40 HREP projects that have
improved fish and wildlife habitat on approximately 67,000 acres.
An additional 24 projects are currently under construction or
in design. They will help to restore an additional 74,000 acres
of aquatic and terrestrial habitat. Since its inception, Congress
has appropriated a total of $282.72 million for the EMP (through
fiscal 2005). The states have contributed an additional $16.5
million (through fiscal 2003), bringing total expenditures to
nearly $300 million.
Monitoring
and sampling data from the LTRMP has formed the basis of numerous
research projects and has been developed into digital databases
and mapping products. The 1998 Ecological Status and Trends
of the Upper Mississippi River System report used LTRMP data
to provide a broad assessment of the ecological condition of
the Upper Mississippi River System. An updated version of the
report is due to be released in 2005.
In its 1997
Report to Congress on EMP, the Corps recommended that a Habitat
Needs Assessment (HNA) be undertaken for the UMR. The HNA's
purpose was to systematically quantify habitat needs and to
provide a decision management tool for program managers pursuing
restoration goals to address the cumulative ecological impacts
of human actions in the UMR floodplain and watershed. With data
from the LTRMP and other sources and extensive stakeholder input,
the HNA (2000) identified long-term habitat needs for the main
channel, secondary channel, backwaters, islands, and impoundment
pools, and refined the focus of future monitoring and research
activities.
In recent
years, states in the UMR basin, with public input, have built
on the HNA's findings by preparing Environmental Pool Plans
(EPPs) for the UMR's pools. EPPs aim to depict a more detailed
desired future for the UMR than the broader HNA by identifying
pool-scale tools and techniques that could reverse the ecological
decline of the UMR riverine ecosystem. Depending on the state
and the condition of the pool, primary actions may include constructing
and protecting islands, acquiring land or establishing conservation
easements from willing sellers to restore the river's connection
to its floodplain, managing water levels (e.g. lower summer
water levels), and dredging.
The EMP
also has fostered an array of partnerships between federal and
state entities, non-governmental organizations, and the public.
Finally,
the EMP has served as the basis for future restoration efforts.
Design and construction methods, information on habitat response,
monitoring data, interagency coordination, and public input
mechanisms that evolved through program implementation have
informed the development of the ecosystem restoration plan of
UMR-IWW Navigation Study.
UMR-IWW
Navigation Study
The most ambitious and systematic attempt to develop a restoration
plan and funding structure for the UMR has come through the
Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway (UMR-IWW) Navigation
Study. The UMR-IWW Navigation Study was initiated in the late
1980s in response to requests to extend locks and ease congestion
along the UMR system. By 1991, it had been broadened to include
studies of the environmental impacts of incremental increases
in traffic resulting from any navigation improvements.
The Corps
issued a draft feasibility study in July of 2000, but the study
was temporarily halted in February of 2001 in response to "whistle-blower"
allegations that key variables had been altered in order to
insure that the study would recommend large-scale construction
alternatives. These allegations in turn raised more general
concerns over assumptions and methods used in the economics
portion of the study and the extent to which the environmental
impacts of navigation system operation and maintenance had been
addressed. The U.S. Department of Defense asked the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) - via the Water Science and Technology
and Transportation Boards of the National Research Council -
to assess the study's integrity and complete a policy review
of data and methodologies.
In addition
to criticizing the economic models and traffic forecasts underlying
the Navigation Study's assessment of the need for lock and dam
upgrade and expansion, the initial NAS report recommended that
any future version of the study give equal weight to the ecosystem
restoration measures needed to ensure the environmental sustainability
of the river system.
Beginning
in 2001, the Corps embarked on a major restructuring of the
study, one that looks more holistically at the navigation system,
including its long-term impacts on the UMR ecosystem and opportunities
for river and floodplain habitat restoration. The restructured
study has placed greater emphasis on collaboration among federal
and state agencies and the inclusion of non-governmental groups
in the study process. The Corps also has requested that the
National Research Council conduct a parallel assessment of the
study process and draft documents, thereby instituting an expert
review mechanism internal to the study.
In September
2004, the Corps issued its Final Integrated Feasibility Report
and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the UMR-IWW
System Navigation Feasibility Study. It concluded that the authorities
and funding levels for EMP are "insufficient to meet the
environmental needs of the UMRS" and that "[d]egradation
of the system will continue in the future in the absence of
any additional federal action." In view of its status as
a multi-purpose river system that provides the nation with significant
economic and environmental benefits, the Corps recommended that
a dual purpose integrated plan "be approved as a framework
for modifications and operational changes to the Upper Mississippi
River and Illinois Waterway System to provide for navigation
efficiency and environmental sustainability, and to add ecosystem
restoration as an authorized project purpose (xii)."
As a dual-purpose
plan, it would authorize both navigation efficiency improvements
(lock and dam expansion and small-scale measures) and environmental
sustainability improvements (ecosystem restoration activities
and modifications to operations and maintenance activities).
As an integrated plan, it would enable the Corps to manage and
operate the river system adaptively, allowing environmental
benefits that might be realized under different operations and
management regimes to be factored into decision-making that
had previously sought only to optimize navigation efficiency.
This change in authority would allow, for example, the Corps
to modify dredging operations so that they supported restoration
projects such as island reconstruction or pool draw-downs (which
restore or enhance aquatic plant species).
In the December
2004 Chief's Report, the Corps recommended a 50-year ecosystem
restoration plan (Alternative D) at a cost of approximately
$5.72 billion. It proposes that Congress authorize an initial
installment of the plan for an estimated 225 projects with a
cost of $1.58 billion. These projects would include fish passages,
island building and protection, water level management, backwater
restoration, side channel restoration, wing dam and dike alteration,
and shoreline protection. The Corps proposed 100-percent federal
funding for all projects that modify structures and operations
of the existing navigation system (the "nine-foot navigation
project"), fall within the National Refuge System, or effect
backwater areas connected to the main river channel within the
Ordinary High Water line. The Corps offered three reasons for
this funding arrangement, which covers the majority of proposed
projects: 1) that the nine-foot channel project is the cause
of much of the environmental degradation that the restoration
plan seeks to arrest and reverse; 2) that much of the UMR System
falls within FWS National Wildlife and Fish Refuges; and 3)
that the UMR System is interstate in nature.
The plan
also called for Congress to authorize acquisition of 35,000
acres of land from willing sellers to support floodplain connectivity
and wetland and riparian habitat protection and restoration.
The total cost of these activities was estimated at $277 million,
with a 65/35 percent cost-share between federal and non-federal
sponsors. Non-federal sponsors, including nonprofit entities,
would be responsible for land acquisition and the costs of operating
and maintaining the projects.
ii.
Watershed-Wide Restoration: Hypoxia Action Plan and USDA Conservation
Programs
Another
major impetus for ecosystem restoration in the UMR basin derives
from efforts to address the downstream problem of hypoxia in
the Gulf of Mexico. The hypoxia action plan, released in early
2001, outlined the ambitious restoration strategy of the federal-state
interagency task force for improving water quality and restoring
habitat throughout the Mississippi River watershed. The plan
highlighted the need for voluntary, incentive-based approaches
for achieving goals, such as reducing nonpoint source pollution
and nitrogen-loading in the Mississippi River, and it looked
ahead to the reauthorization of the conservation title of the
2002 Farm Bill as a major opportunity for directing federal
funds toward the region.
USDA conservation
programs are used heavily by agricultural producers throughout
the UMR region and offer significant opportunities for advancing
systemic ecosystem restoration in the river system and the broader
basin. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) aims
at improved on-farm environmental management and forms a major
tool for reducing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural
operations. Other programs - including the Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP), Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), and Wildlife Habitat
Incentives Program (WHIP) - aim at preserving and restoring
wildlife habitat. The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is
a new "green payments" program that will pay producers
to adopt and maintain practices that address a broad range of
natural resource management concerns.
Development
of the Integrated Assessment and Hypoxia Action Plan
Awareness of the hypoxic zone began in the 1970s, and research
continued though the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995, a group
of non-governmental organizations petitioned EPA and the Governor
of Louisiana to convene a management conference for hypoxia.
In coordination with other agencies, EPA held a series of workshops
and symposia, and managers and policymakers began paying attention.
Soon after, EPA convened meetings of high-ranking federal officials
to start the policy dialogue and asked the White House Office
of Science and Technology Policy to conduct what would become
an assessment of hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
By 1997,
this federal workgroup was broadened and became known as the
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force
(Task Force). In 1998, Congress passed the Harmful Algal Bloom
and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (HABHRCA). It codified
the development of a hypoxia assessment and charged the interagency
Task Force with developing an action plan for reducing, mitigating,
and controlling hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
The Task
Force's integrated assessment was completed in 2000. It consisted
of six reports on the distribution, dynamics, and causes of
Gulf hypoxia; the ecological and economic consequences; sources
and loads of nutrients transported by the Mississippi River
to the Gulf of Mexico; methods of reducing nutrient loads; and
the environmental, social, and economic impacts of such methods.
Models linked Gulf hypoxia to high nitrogen levels from nonpoint
source pollution in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
and identified several options for reducing nitrogen-loading
by 20-40 percent. When the draft of the integrated assessment
was released, a debate on the degree of nitrogen-loading along
the Mississippi River was initiated by agricultural stakeholders.
Consensus on this issue was eventually reached because of the
sound science on which models were based, enabling the process
to develop the hypoxia action plan to begin.
The Action
Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the
Northern Gulf of Mexico was submitted as a Report to Congress
on January 18, 2001. The Plan outlined a national strategy to
reduce the frequency, duration, size, and degree of oxygen depletion
of the hypoxic zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
To guide
the goal-setting process for the hypoxia action plan, the following
principles were identified:
-
Encourage
voluntary, practical, and cost-effective actions;
-
Utilize
existing programs and state/federal regulatory mechanisms;
-
Follow
adaptive management, which is based on implementing action
items, educating the public, monitoring, conducting additional
research and modeling, and adapting the management strategy
based on periodic evaluations of environmental, economic,
and programmatic indicators;
-
Identify
additional funding needs and sources during the annual agency
budget process; and
-
Provide
measurable outcomes.
With these
principles in mind, three long-term goals were established.
The coastal goal is to reduce the average size of the hypoxic
zone to less than 5,000 sq km by 2015 through the implementation
of practical and cost-effective voluntary actions that aim to
reduce the annual discharge of nitrogen into the Gulf. The within-basin
goal is to restore and protect the waters of the 31 states and
77 tribes in the basin through the implementation of nutrient
and sediment reduction actions that protect public health and
aquatic life, as well as reduce negative impacts of water pollution
on the Gulf of Mexico. The quality-of-life goal is to improve
the communities and economic conditions across the Mississippi
basin, particularly the agriculture, fisheries, and recreation
sectors, through improved public and private land management
and a cooperative, incentive-based approach.
To achieve
these goals, the Plan outlined a timeline of actions to be undertaken
between 2000 and late 2003, including developing a budget proposal,
establishing sub-basin committees, developing a hypoxia research
strategy, expanding long-term monitoring for the hypoxic zone
and the Mississippi River basin, and developing strategies for
reducing nutrients and point source loadings in sub-basins.
At this
time, implementation remains behind schedule and insufficient
political will has been exerted by the current Administration
and the stakeholders within the basin to advance the Plan.
The
Role of USDA Conservation Programs
USDA's conservation programs can be a critical vehicle for implementing
the basin-wide environmental quality and restoration goals,
including those outlined in the Hypoxia Action Plan. For example,
the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which specifically
identifies addressing national conservation priorities as one
of its goals, could play a significant role in funding voluntary,
incentive-based measures, such as best management practices
for controlling nonpoint source pollution and nitrogen runoff
from agricultural lands. Other important programs include the
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), the Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP), the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), and the
Farmland Protection Program (FPP).
The 2002
Farm Bill authorized an 80-percent increase for USDA's conservation
programs over the next ten years, providing billions of dollars
of mandatory spending and significantly expanding EQIP, WRP,
and CRP, while also expanding WHIP and FPP. The legislation
also created a new Conservation Security Program (CSP), which
will pay producers to adopt or maintain practices that address
natural resource management concerns.
Over the
life of the current Farm Bill, using very rough figures, the
federal investment in the UMR basin states through USDA environmental
management, restoration, and large retirement programs will
total $3-4 billion.
Although
such funding increases and program expansions are welcome, the
most serious agricultural-related environmental challenges -
nonpoint source pollution, water and air pollution from confined
animal feeding operations, and degradation and loss of wildlife
habitat and wetlands - cannot be stemmed without the carefully
planned targeting of conservation program resources. Without
considerable leadership from the governors in the Mississippi
Basin and the White House, it is unclear whether the Hypoxia
Action Plan, despite its significant stakeholder involvement
and good scientific underpinning, will play a significant future
role in advancing environmental quality improvements and restoration
efforts in the predominantly agricultural UMR basin.
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Key
Players
Federal
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
State
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Missouri
Wisconsin
Other
American Rivers
Audubon Society
Environmental Defense
Illinois Stewardship Alliance
Mississippi River Basin Alliance
The Izaak Walton League of America
The Nature Conservancy
Upper Mississippi River Basin Association
Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee
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|
Funding
Environmental
Management Program
The Water Resources Development Act of 1999 authorized annual
appropriations of $22.75 million for Environmental Management
Program habitat projects; $10.42 million for long-term resource
monitoring; and $350,000, through 2009, for an independent technical
advisory committee. Prior to the 1999 reauthorization, the annual
legislative authorization for Environmental Management Program
habitat projects was $13.0 million and the long-term resource
monitoring annual legislative authorization was $5.955 million.
In addition, prior to 1999, there was no authority for an independent
technical advisory group.
Since
its inception, Congress has appropriated a total of $282.72 million
for the EMP (through fiscal 2005). The states have contributed
an additional $16.5 million (through fiscal 2003), bringing total
expenditures to near $300 million. Figure 1 shows appropriated
versus authorized EMP funding since fiscal 1994.
In
administering the Environmental Management Program, the Army Corps
of Engineers transfers funding to the U.S. Geological Survey in
order to carry out the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program.
A portion of these funds is then provided to states to support
the work of the six field stations. The Army Corps also transfers
funding to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support its involvement
in the planning, design, and operation and maintenance of habitat
projects. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also responsible
for the costs of operating and maintaining Program habitat projects
on lands that it manages
Upper
Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway Navigation Study
In the Final Integrated Feasibility Report and PEIS (September
2004) and Chief's Report (December 2004), the Corps recommended
an ecosystem restoration framework plan that consisted of an estimated
1,010 projects with a combined first cost of about $5.3 billion.
The total estimated operation and maintenance costs for these
projects over a 50-year project life in 2003 dollars were estimated
at $257 million. The first cost of the 100-percent federal projects
was estimated at about $4.25 billion. The total first cost of
the cost shared floodplain restoration projects was estimated
at about $1.05 billion with a federal share of about $680 million
and a non-federal share of about $370 million.
The
Corps recommended further that Congress authorize an initial 15-year
increment of $1.462 billion. Additional funding would be contingent
on a Report to Congress that evaluated the progress toward restoration
goals.
Hypoxia
Action Plan
The Hypoxia Action Plan was delivered to Congress in 2001, as
well as plans to continue the work developed by the Mississippi
River/Gulf of Mexico Task Force. The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia
Research and Control Act of 1998 authorized $15 million for 1999,
$18.25 million for 2000, and $19 million for 2001 (to remain available
until expended) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
for research, education, and monitoring activities to prevent,
reduce, and control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.
USDA
Conservation Programs
The 2002 Farm Bill increased ten-year funding levels for U.S.
Department of Agriculture conservation programs by 80 percent
over previous baselines (an estimated increase of $17.1 billion).
Total program funding estimates for the next ten years are as
follows (from USDA ERS report):
-
The
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which offers annual payments
and cost sharing to establish long-term, resource-conserving
cover on environmentally sensitive land, had its acreage cap
raised from 36.4 million acres to 39.2 million acres. The
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates increased spending
of $1.5 billion over ten years.
-
The
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), which provides cost sharing
and/or long-term or permanent easements for restoration of
wetland on agricultural land, had its acreage cap raised from
1.075 million acres to 2.275 million acres. CBO estimates
increased spending of $1.5 billion over ten years.
-
The
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which provides
technical assistance, cost sharing, and incentive payments
to assist livestock and crop producers with conservation and
environmental management improvements, is mandated to receive
$5.8 billion in CCC funding for fiscal years 2002-07 and a
total of $9 billion over ten years.
-
The
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, which provides cost sharing
to landowners and producers to develop and improve wildlife
habitat, has CCC funding of $360 million mandated over fiscal
2002-07 and a total of $700 million over ten years.
-
The
Farmland Protection Program (FPP) provides funds to purchase
development rights and keep productive farmland in agricultural
use, has CCC funding of $597 million is mandated over fiscal
2002-07, totaling $985 million over ten years.
-
The
Conservation Security Program, a new program, will provide
payments to eligible producers for maintaining or adopting
conservation practices that address a variety of local and/or
national resource concerns. CBO estimates spending of $369
million for fiscal 2003-07 and $2 billion over ten years.
-
The
Grassland Reserve Program, also new, will protect up to 2
million acres of grassland. CCC funding of up to $254 million
is available.
Over
the life of the current Farm Bill, an estimated $3-4 billion of
federal dollars will be invested through these conservation programs
in agricultural operations in the five UMR basin states
|
|
Achieving
Progress
While
there is no single restoration plan or funding strategy for the
UMR basin, there are a number of significant and complementary
ecosystem restoration and environmental protection initiatives
underway within the river system and the broader watershed. The
UMR-IWW navigation study, Environmental Management Program, Hypoxia
Action Plan, and USDA conservation programs together represent
long-term, interagency, and multi-stakeholder efforts to direct
billions of dollars of federal, state, and private money toward
the restoration of critical ecosystems in the UMR basin.
This
overview has divided the UMR into two basic components: the river
system (river and floodplain) and the broader watershed. In ecological
terms, this is an arbitrary distinction, since the two components
are internally and dynamically connected. Moreover, with respect
to particular environmental problems such as nutrient and sediment
runoff, policy and management responses need to be formulated
in a cross-cutting fashion.
In
terms of the principal economic activities, structures of interest
and ownership, and consequent drivers of environmental problems
within the UMR basin, the distinction is useful. The navigation
infrastructure dominates the river system as the leading economic
use. The federal government is responsible for operating and maintaining
the 1,300 mile nine-foot navigation channel project within the
river system and also has extensive land holdings and management
responsibilities via the National Wildlife and Fish Refuges. Within
the wider basin, agricultural production is the principal land
use and ownership is almost exclusively private.
These
patterns have important implications for designing policy responses.
Within the river corridor, the Corps of Engineers will need to
play a leading role in restoration activities. Given the Corps'
historic focus on navigation and economic development, often at
the expense of environmental values, there is a clear need for
strong partnerships with the federal, state, and non-governmental
agencies and organizations (e.g., USFWS, USGS, USDA; state wildlife
and environmental protection agencies; The Nature Conservancy)
that have the expertise and credibility necessary to plan and
implement complicated restoration projects. On the UMR, the EMP
has served as a template for these evolving interagency and interstate
partnerships. The Navigation Study, despite its highly controversial
history, charts an even more ambitious future for these evolving
partnerships.
Key
achievements of ecosystem restoration and environmental protection
initiatives within the river/floodplain complex of the Upper Mississippi
River System include:
-
The
Environmental Management Plan has fostered valuable partnerships
between federal, state, non-governmental entities, and the
public, and it has integrated scientific, environmental management,
and ecological restoration capacities in the Upper Mississippi
River;
-
The
Habitat Needs Assessment, based on scientific data from the
Environmental Management Plan's Long Term Resource Monitoring
Program, has created a powerful system-wide trends assessment
and planning tool; and
-
The
Army Corps' Navigation Study has emphasized stakeholder participation
and independent review as elements of its planning process,
has provided a focal point for reviewing and assessing system-wide
restoration needs, and has forwarded a 50-year blueprint for
restoration and adaptive management of the UMRS.
Within
the broader basin, the Hypoxia Action Plan was intended to be
a broad roadmap for addressing the problems of excessive nutrient
and sediment runoff and transport to the Gulf of Mexico. The six-part
integrated assessment provided a scientific foundation for the
complex, stakeholder-driven process of developing the Action Plan's
consensus-based principles and goals, and its timeline for implementation.
In reality, however, this roadmap has not provided much practical
guidance or continuing political impetus for the federal, state,
and non-governmental partners to the process.
Practically
speaking, USDA conservation programs represent the most significant
source of federal funding for restoration activities in the broader
UMR basin Yet there are four major shortcomings to the current
USDA conservation policy, which continue to impede the use of
very considerable federal agricultural conservation program outlays
as effective tools for advancing landscape-level water quality
and restoration initiatives:
-
First,
traditional USDA conservation programs provide farmers and
ranchers with piece-meal assistance rather than integrated
environmental management plans for their agricultural operations.
The exception is the new Conservation Security Program - a
whole farm, green payments program - which is being implemented
under the new Farm Bill but at a far slower pace than its
proponents advocated.
-
Second,
conservation program benefits (i.e., cost-share assistance)
tend to be distributed broadly rather than targeted to particular
areas and problems of concern. For this reason, and because
they are focused on individual farm and ranch operations,
USDA conservation programs do not tend to support landscape-level
conservation planning efforts.
-
Third,
USDA conservation programs are practice-based rather than
performance-based. In other words, they focus primarily on
the implementation of recommended conservation practices and
technologies rather than the achievement of measurable outcomes
in the field, across the farm operation, within the watershed.
-
And
finally, there are continuing institutional and leadership
barriers within NRCS that impede the shift from the production-supporting
resource management paradigm that defined this agency's mission
for its first 50 years to the environmental management paradigm
that Congress has mandated increasingly since the 1986 Farm
Bill
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Links
Environmental
Protection Agency, Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed
Nutrient Task Force, Hypoxia Action Plan (2001) http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/actionplan.pdf
National
Research Council, Assessment of Upper Mississippi River-Illinois
Waterway Navigation System Feasibility Study (2001) http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074053/html
National
Research Council, Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Restructured Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Feasibility
Study: First Report (2004) http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10873.html
National
Research Council, Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Restructured Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Feasibility
Study: Second Report (2004) http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11109.html
NOAA/National
Science and Technology Council, Integrated Assessment of Hypoxia
in the Northern Gulf
of Mexico, http://www.nos.noaa.gov/products/hypox_final.pdf
Soil and
Water Conservation Society, Realizing the Promise of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment
Act of 2002 (2004) http://www.swcs.org/docs/RTP.pdf
United States
Army Corps of Engineers, 2004 Report to Congress: Upper Mississippi
River System Environmental Management Program
http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/EMP/Documents/RTC04-Final.pdf.
United States
Army Corps of Engineers, Chief of Engineer's Report approving
a framework for ecosystem restoration and navigation improvements
(December 15, 2004) http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/umr-iwwsns/documents/UPPERMISSCHIEF15Dec.pdf
United States
Army Corps of Engineers, Final UMR-IWW System Navigation Feasibility
Study; Integrated Feasibility Report and Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (September 24, 2004) http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/umr-iwwsns/documents/Cover_Page_Executive_Summary_Final.pdf
United States
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service,
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
United States
Geological Survey, Nitrogen in the Mississippi Basin-Estimating
Sources and Predicting Flux to the Gulf of Mexico, http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.135-00.html
United States
Geological Survey, About the Upper Mississippi River System,
http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/umesc_about/about_umrs.html
United States
Geological Survey, Habitat Changes in the Upper Mississippi
River Floodplain, http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/m2136.htm
United States
Geological Survey, 2000, Nitrogen in the Mississippi Basin-Estimating
Sources and Predicting Flux to the Gulf of Mexico, USGS Fact
Sheet 135-00, http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.135-00.html
United States
Geological Survey, Habitat Needs Assessment for the Upper Mississippi
River System Environmental Management Program, Summary Report,
http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/habitat_needs_assessment/summ_report.html
Upper Mississippi
Environmental Science Center, Ecological Status and Trends of
the Upper Mississippi River System 1998. A Report of the Long
Term Resource Monitoring Program
http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/reports_publications/status_and_trends.html
Upper Mississippi
River Conservation Committee
http://www.mississippi-river.com/umrcc/
Upper Mississippi
River Conservation Committee, A Preliminary Description of Habitat
Objectives (and Estimated Costs) Needed to Achieve a Desired
Level of Ecosystem Integrity on the Upper Mississippi River
System, June 2002, http://www.mississippi-river.com/umrcc/pdf/JUNEfinal.pdf
Upper Mississippi
River Conservation Committee, Estimate of Habitat Restoration
Costs for the Upper Mississippi River System, June 2002, http://www.mississippi-river.com/umrcc/pdf/AppendixA.pdf
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