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NCGA urges WRDA passage
DES MOINES (DTN)--The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Nov. 9 urged its members to contact their legislators and re-emphasize the importance of passing the 2004 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which would authorize the construction of seven new navigation locks on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Failure to pass WRDA could have dire consequences, NCGA CEO Rick Tolman said in a NCGA news release.
"We've been pushing for lock modernization for more than 14 years and we are finally close to new locks becoming a reality," Tolman said in the release. "Now our members need to ensure their elected officials understand the importance of closing the deal. The time to pass WRDA is now."
If passed, the legislation will authorize construction of seven new 1,200-foot locks and implementation of small-scale measures, while also establishing a comprehensive ecosystem restoration program for the Mississippi River basin.
"Construction of new locks would not only benefit farmers and others who rely on the river system to transport their products, but it would also bring an estimated 48 million man-hours of construction work to the Midwest," Tolman said.
While attending a Midwest Area River Coalition (MARC 2000) meeting in St. Louis during early November, Tolman noted supporters of WRDA are more optimistic about its passage before Congress adjourns for the end of the year.
"We are all still very optimistic that we will see a WRDA passed this year," said, who serves as chairman of MARC 2000. "Our chances have increased tremendously to see this action during the upcoming lame-duck session which starts Nov. 16."
NCGA and MARC 2000 are urging Congress not to give up the battle to modernize the river systems and expand the river export trade, even amid the efforts to keep the agenda of the lame duck session on only fiscal 2005 spending debates. The meeting also focused on the appropriations process and addressing backlogs for existing operations and maintenance issues.
"There has been significant movement made on this legislation, but if Congress does not pass this bill this year, the nation's farmers and thousands of others who count on our river system to ship and receive their goods will suffer," said Tolman.
Date: 11/23/04
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