II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2470

To enhance navigation capacity improvements and the ecosystem restoration 

plan for the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway System. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2004

Mr. BOND (for himself, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. TALENT, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. FITZGERALD and Mr. PRYOR) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Envirionment and Public Works 

A BILL

To enhance navigation capacity improvements and the ecosystem restoration plan for the Upper Mississippi River 

and Illinois Waterway System.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) in section 1103(a)(2) of the Water Re6 sources Development Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 4225), 

7 Congress recognized the Upper Mississippi River 

8 System as ‘‘a nationally significant ecosystem and a 

9 nationally significant commercial navigation system’’ 
2

•S 2470 IS 

1 and declared that the system ‘‘shall be administered 

2 and regulated in recognition of its several purposes’’; 

3 (2) inaction on construction of new locks will 

4 lead to economic decline, and inaction on implemen5 tation of an enhanced ecosystem restoration pro6 gram will lead to further environmental decline; 

7 (3) the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois 

8 Waterway carry approximately 60 percent of the 

9 corn exports of the United States and 45 percent of 

10 the soybean exports of the United States, providing 

11 a significant positive balance of trade benefit for the 

12 Nation; 

13 (4) the movement of more than 100,000,000 

14 tons of product supports 400,000 full- and part-time 

15 jobs in the United States, generating over 

16 $4,000,000,000 in income and $12,000,000,000 to 

17 $15,000,000,000 in economic activity; 

18 (5) Midwestern utilities use coal, the second 

19 largest category of cargo shipped on the Upper Mis20 sissippi River System, to produce cost-efficient en21 ergy; 

22 (6) keeping the cost of transportation lower 

23 through competition between transportation modes 

24 is the United States farmer’s competitive advantage 
3

•S 2470 IS 

1 in capturing future global growth in agricultural ex2 ports; 

3 (7) United States farm and trade policies work 

4 to open world markets and promote United States 

5 exports, and water resource policy has provided a 

6 low-cost transportation alternative to other modes; 

7 (8) the Department of Agriculture projects that 

8 corn exports will grow 44 percent over the next decade, with a 1 9 ⁄3 increase in growth exported through 

10 the Gulf of Mexico; 

11 (9) those transportation savings— 

12 (A) provide higher income to farmers and 

13 rural communities; and 

14 (B) generate Federal and State taxes to 

15 support community activities, quality of life, 

16 and national benefits; 

17 (10) the construction of new 1,200-foot locks 

18 and lock extensions will provide more than 

19 48,000,000 man-hours of employment over 10 to 15 

20 years; 

21 (11) foreign competitors have worked over the 

22 last 10 years to improve foreign transportation in23 frastructure to compete more effectively with United 

24 States production; 
4

•S 2470 IS 

1 (12) the inland waterway transportation system 

2 moves 16 percent of the freight in the United States 

3 for 2 percent of the cost, including more than 

4 100,000,000 tons on the Upper Mississippi River 

5 System; 

6 (13) the Department of Transportation projects 

7 that freight congestion on the roads and rails in the 

8 United States will double in the next 25 years and 

9 that water transportation will need to play an in10 creasing role in moving freight; 

11 (14) the movement of 100,000,000 tons on the 

12 river system in 4,400 15-barge tows out of harms 

13 way would require an equivalent of 4,000,000 trucks 

14 or 1,000,000 rail cars moving directly through our 

15 communities; 

16 (15) econometric models are useful analytic 

17 tools to provide valuable information, but are unable 

18 to account for every market trend, development, and 

19 public policy impact; 

20 (16) the current capacity of the Upper Mis21 sissippi River System is— 

22 (A) declining by 10 percent annually be23 cause of unplanned closures of a 70-year old in24 frastructure; and 
5

•S 2470 IS 

1 (B) reducing the potential for sustained 

2 growth; 

3 (17) the current 600-foot lock system was de4 signed for steamboats, at a time when 4,000,000 

5 tons moved on the Mississippi River and a total of 

6 2,000,000,000 bushels of corn were produced na7 tionally, compared to today, when 100,000,000 to 

8 120,000,000 tons are shipped and the national pro9 duction of corn exceeds 10,000,000,000 bushels; 

10 (18) the 600-foot locks at Locks and Dam Nos. 

11 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25 on the Upper Mississippi 

12 River and LaGrange and Peoria on the Illinois Wa13 terway are operating at 80 percent utilization and 

14 are unable to provide for or process effectively the 

15 volatile growth of traditional export grain markets; 

16 (19) based on the current construction schedule 

17 of new locks and dams on the inland system, lock 

18 modernization will need to take place over 30 years, 

19 starting immediately, as an imperative to avoid lost 

20 export grain sales and diminished national competi21 tiveness; 

22 (20) the Corps of Engineers has been studying 

23 the needs for national investments on the Upper 

24 Mississippi River System for the last 15 years and
6

•S 2470 IS 

1 has based initial recommendations on the best avail2 able information and science; 

3 (21) the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers 

4 ecosystem consists of hundreds of thousands of acres 

5 of bottomland forests, islands, backwaters, side 

6 channels, and wetlands; 

7 (22) the river ecosystem is home to 270 species 

8 of birds, 57 species of mammals, 45 species of am9 phibians and reptiles, 113 species of fish, and nearly 

10 50 species of mussels; 

11 (23) more than 40 percent of migratory water12 fowl and shorebirds in North America depend on the 

13 river for food, shelter, and habitat during migration; 

14 (24) the annual operation of the Upper Mis15 sissippi River Basin needs to take into consideration 

16 opportunities for ecosystem restoration; 

17 (25) development since the 1930’s has altered 

18 and reduced the biological diversity of the large flood 

19 plain river systems of the Upper Mississippi and Illi20 nois Rivers; 

21 (26) Congress recognizes the need for signifi22 cant Federal investment in the restoration of the 

23 Upper Mississippi and Illinois River ecosystems; 

24 (27) the Upper Mississippi River System pro25 vides important economic benefits from recreational 
7

•S 2470 IS 

1 and tourist uses, resulting in the basin’s receiving 

2 more visitors annually than most National Parks, 

3 with the ecosystems and wildlife being the main at4 tractions; and 

5 (28) the Upper Mississippi River System— 

6 (A) includes 284,688 acres of National 

7 Wildlife Refuge land that is managed as habitat 

8 for migratory birds, fish, threatened and endan9 gered species, and a diverse assortment of other 

10 species and related habitats; and 

11 (B) provides many recreational opportuni12 ties. 

13 SEC. 2. ENHANCED NAVIGATION CAPACITY IMPROVE14 MENTS AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PLAN 

15 FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND IL16 LINOIS WATERWAY SYSTEM. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.— In this section: 

18 (1) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the pre19 ferred integrated plan contained in the document en20 titled ‘‘Integrated Feasibility Report and Pro21 grammatic Environmental Impact Statement for the 

22 UMR–IWW System Navigation Feasibility System’’ 

23 and dated April 29, 2004. 

24 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Army. 
8

•S 2470 IS 

1 (3) UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ILLINOIS

2 WATERWAY SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Upper Mississippi 

3 River and Illinois Waterway System’’ means the 

4 projects for navigation and ecosystem restoration au5 thorized by Congress for— 

6 (A) the segment of the Mississippi River 

7 from the confluence with the Ohio River, River 

8 Mile 0.0, to Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in 

9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, River Mile 

10 854.0; and 

11 (B) the Illinois Waterway from its con12 fluence with the Mississippi River at Grafton, 

13 Illinois, River Mile 0.0, to T.J. O’Brien Lock in 

14 Chicago, Illinois, River Mile 327.0. 

15 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF NAVIGA16 TION IMPROVEMENTS.— 

17 (1) SMALL SCALE AND NONSTRUCTURAL MEAS18 URES.—At a cost of $24,000,000 in funds from the 

19 general fund of the Treasury, to be matched in an 

20 equal amount from the Inland Waterways Trust 

21 Fund (which is paid by private users), the Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 (A) construct mooring facilities at Locks 

24 12, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, and LaGrange Lock; 
9

•S 2470 IS 

1 (B) provide switchboats at Locks 20 

2 through 25 over 5 years for project operation; 

3 and 

4 (C) conduct development and testing of an 

5 appointment scheduling system. 

6 (2) NEW LOCKS.—At a cost of $730,000,000 in 

7 funds from the general fund of the Treasury, with 

8 an equal matching amount provided from the Inland 

9 Waterways Trust Fund (which is paid by the private 

10 users), the Secretary shall construct new 1,200-foot 

11 locks at Locks 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25 on the Upper 

12 Mississippi River and at LaGrange Lock and Peoria 

13 Lock on the Illinois Waterway. 

14 (3) MITIGATION.—At a cost of $100,000,000 in 

15 funds from the general fund of the Treasury, with 

16 an equal matching amount provided from the Inland 

17 Waterway Trust Fund (which is paid by private 

18 users), the Secretary shall conduct mitigation for 

19 new locks and small scale and nonstructural meas20 ures authorized under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

21 (c) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AUTHORIZATION.— 

22 (1) OPERATION.—To ensure the environmental 

23 sustainability of the existing Upper Mississippi River 

24 and Illinois Waterway System, the Secretary shall, 

25 consistent with requirements to avoid any adverse 
10

•S 2470 IS 

1 effects on navigation, modify the operation of the 

2 Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway Sys3 tem to address the cumulative environmental im4 pacts of operation of the system and improve the ec5 ological integrity of the Upper Mississippi River and 

6 Illinois River. 

7 (2) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

9 consistent with requirements to avoid any ad10 verse effects on navigation, carry out ecosystem 

11 restoration projects to attain and maintain the 

12 sustainability of the ecosystem of the Upper 

13 Mississippi River and Illinois River in accord14 ance with the general framework outlined in the 

15 Plan. 

16 (B) PROJECTS INCLUDED.—Ecosystem 

17 restoration projects may include— 

18 (i) island building; 

19 (ii) construction of fish passages; 

20 (iii) floodplain restoration; 

21 (iv) water level management (includ22 ing water drawdown); 

23 (v) backwater restoration; 

24 (vi) side channel restoration;
11

•S 2470 IS 

1 (vii) wing dam and dike restoration 

2 and modification; 

3 (viii) island and shoreline protection; 

4 (ix) topographical diversity; 

5 (x) dam point control; 

6 (xi) use of dredged material for envi7 ronmental purposes; 

8 (xii) tributary confluence restoration; 

9 (xiii) spillway modification to benefit 

10 the environment; 

11 (xiv) land easement authority; and 

12 (xv) land acquisition. 

13 (C) COST SHARING.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clause (ii), the Federal share of the cost 

16 of carrying out an ecosystem restoration 

17 project under this paragraph shall be 65 

18 percent. 

19 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN RES20 TORATION PROJECTS.—In the case of a 

21 project under this paragraph for ecosystem 

22 restoration, the Federal share of the cost 

23 of carrying out the project shall be 100 

24 percent if the project— 
12

•S 2470 IS 

1 (I) is located below the ordinary 

2 high water mark or in a connected 

3 backwater; 

4 (II) modifies the operation or 

5 structures for navigation; or 

6 (III) is located on federally 

7 owned land. 

8 (iii) NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA9 TIONS.—Nongovernmental organizations 

10 shall be eligible to contribute the non-Fed11 eral cost-sharing requirements applicable 

12 to projects under this paragraph. 

13 (D) LAND ACQUISITION.—The Secretary 

14 may acquire land or an interest in land for an 

15 ecosystem restoration project from a willing 

16 owner through conveyance of— 

17 (i) fee title to the land; or 

18 (ii) a flood plain conservation ease19 ment. 

20 (3) SPECIFIC PROJECTS AUTHORIZATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), the ecosystem restoration projects 

23 described in paragraph (2) shall be carried out 

24 at a total construction cost of $1,460,000,000. 
13

•S 2470 IS 

1 (B) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE FUNDS.—

2 Of the amounts made available under subpara3 graph (A), not more than $35,000,000 for each 

4 fiscal year shall be available for land acquisition 

5 under paragraph (2)(D). 

6 (4) IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 

8 30, 2005, and every 4 years thereafter, the Sec9 retary shall submit to the Committee on Envi10 ronment and Public Works of the Senate and 

11 the Committee on Transportation and Infra12 structure of the House of Representatives an 

13 implementation report that— 

14 (i) includes baselines, benchmarks, 

15 goals, and priorities for ecosystem restora16 tion projects; and 

17 (ii) measures the progress in meeting 

18 the goals. 

19 (B) ADVISORY PANEL.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 appoint and convene an advisory panel to 

22 provide independent guidance in the devel23 opment of each implementation report 

24 under subparagraph (A). 
14

•S 2470 IS 

1 (ii) PANELISTS.—Panelists shall in2 clude— 

3 (I) 1 representative of each of 

4 the State resource agencies (or a des5 ignee of the Governor of the State) 

6 from each of the States of Illinois, 

7 Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wis8 consin; 

9 (II) 1 representative of the De10 partment of Agriculture; 

11 (III) 1 representative of the De12 partment of Transportation; 

13 (IV) 1 representative of the 

14 United States Geological Survey; 

15 (V) 1 representative of the 

16 United States Fish and Wildlife Serv17 ice; 

18 (VI) 1 representative of the Envi19 ronmental Protection Agency; 

20 (VII) 1 representative of affected 

21 landowners; 

22 (VIII) 2 representatives of con23 servation and environmental advocacy 

24 groups; and 
15

•S 2470 IS 

1 (IX) 2 representatives of agri2 culture and industry advocacy groups. 

3 (iii) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Sec4 retary and the Secretary of the Interior 

5 shall serve as co-chairpersons of the advi6 sory panel. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Except 

8 as otherwise provided in this section— 

9 (1) there are authorized to be appropriated 

10 such sums as are necessary to carry out this section 

11 for fiscal years 2006 through 2020; and 

12 (2) after fiscal year 2020— 

13 (A) funds that have been made available 

14 under this section, but have not been expended, 

15 may be expended; and 

16 (B) funds that have been authorized to be 

17 appropriated under this section, but have not 

18 been made available, may be made available.

Æ