I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4785

To enhance navigation capacity improvements and the ecosystem restoration 

plan for the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway System. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 8, 2004

Mr. HULSHOF (for himself, Mr. BOSWELL, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. GUTKNECHT, 

Mr. LEACH, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. EVANS, Mr. AKIN, Mr. SKELTON, 

Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. WELLER, Mr. LATHAM, 

and Mr. KING of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

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 
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1 nationally significant commercial navigation system’’ 

2 and declared that the system ‘‘shall be administered 

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

4 (2) inaction on construction of new locks will 

5 lead to economic decline, and inaction on implemen6 tation of an enhanced ecosystem restoration pro7 gram will lead to further environmental decline; 

8 (3) the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois 

9 Waterway carry approximately 60 percent of the 

10 corn exports of the United States and 45 percent of 

11 the soybean exports of the United States, providing 

12 a significant positive balance of trade benefit for the 

13 Nation; 

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

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

16 jobs in the United States, generating over 

17 $4,000,000,000 in income and $12,000,000,000 to 

18 $15,000,000,000 in economic activity; 

19 (5) Midwestern utilities use coal, the second 

20 largest category of cargo shipped on the Upper Mis21 sissippi River System, to produce cost-efficient en22 ergy; 

23 (6) keeping the cost of transportation lower 

24 through competition between transportation modes 

25 is the United States farmer’s competitive advantage 
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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) United States exports of soybeans and soy12 bean products topped 1,000,000,000 bushels for the 

13 third straight year in 2003, with roughly 75 percent 

14 exported through the Port of New Orleans via the 

15 Mississippi waterways and its tributaries; 

16 (10) those transportation savings—

17 (A) provide higher income to farmers and 

18 rural communities; and 

19 (B) generate Federal and State taxes to 

20 support community activities, quality of life, 

21 and national benefits; 

22 (11) the construction of new 1,200-foot locks 

23 and lock extensions will provide more than 

24 48,000,000 man-hours of employment over 10 to 15 

25 years; 
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1 (12) foreign competitors have worked over the 

2 last 10 years to improve foreign transportation in3 frastructure to compete more effectively with United 

4 States production; 

5 (13) the inland waterway transportation system 

6 moves 16 percent of the freight in the United States 

7 for 2 percent of the cost, including more than 

8 100,000,000 tons on the Upper Mississippi River 

9 System; 

10 (14) the Department of Transportation projects 

11 that freight congestion on the roads and rails in the 

12 United States will double in the next 25 years and 

13 that water transportation will need to play an in14 creasing role in moving freight; 

15 (15) the movement of 100,000,000 tons on the 

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

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

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

19 communities; 

20 (16) econometric models are useful analytic 

21 tools to provide valuable information, but are unable 

22 to account for every market trend, development, and 

23 public policy impact; 

24 (17) the current capacity of the Upper Mis25 sissippi River System is—
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1 (A) declining by 10 percent annually be2 cause of unplanned closures of a 70-year old in3 frastructure; and 

4 (B) reducing the potential for sustained 

5 growth; 

6 (18) the current 600-foot lock system was de7 signed for steamboats, at a time when 4,000,000 

8 tons moved on the Mississippi River and a total of 

9 2,000,000,000 bushels of corn were produced na10 tionally, compared to today, when 100,000,000 to 

11 120,000,000 tons are shipped and the national pro12 duction of corn exceeds 10,000,000,000 bushels; 

13 (19) the 600-foot locks at Locks and Dam Nos. 

14 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25 on the Upper Mississippi 

15 River and LaGrange and Peoria on the Illinois Wa16 terway are operating at 80 percent utilization and 

17 are unable to provide for or process effectively the 

18 volatile growth of traditional export grain markets; 

19 (20) based on the current construction schedule 

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

21 modernization will need to take place over 30 years, 

22 starting immediately, as an imperative to avoid lost 

23 export grain sales and diminished national competi24 tiveness; 
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1 (21) the Corps of Engineers has been studying 

2 the needs for national investments on the Upper 

3 Mississippi River System for the last 15 years and 

4 has based initial recommendations on the best avail5 able information and science; 

6 (22) the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers 

7 ecosystem consists of hundreds of thousands of acres 

8 of bottomland forests, islands, backwaters, side 

9 channels, and wetlands; 

10 (23) the river ecosystem is home to 270 species 

11 of birds, 57 species of mammals, 45 species of am12 phibians and reptiles, 113 species of fish, and nearly 

13 50 species of mussels; 

14 (24) more than 40 percent of migratory water15 fowl and shorebirds in North America depend on the 

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

17 (25) the annual operation of the Upper Mis18 sissippi River Basin needs to take into consideration 

19 opportunities for ecosystem restoration; 

20 (26) development since the 1930s has altered 

21 and reduced the biological diversity of the large flood 

22 plain river systems of the Upper Mississippi and Illi23 nois Rivers; 
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1 (27) Congress recognizes the need for signifi2 cant Federal investment in the restoration of the 

3 Upper Mississippi and Illinois River ecosystems; 

4 (28) the Upper Mississippi River System pro5 vides important economic benefits from recreational 

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

7 more visitors annually than most National Parks, 

8 with the ecosystems and wildlife being the main at9 tractions; 

10 (29) the Upper Mississippi River System—

11 (A) includes 284,688 acres of National 

12 Wildlife Refuge land that is managed as habitat 

13 for migratory birds, fish, threatened and endan14 gered species, and a diverse assortment of other 

15 species and related habitats; and 

16 (B) provides many recreational opportuni17 ties; and 

18 (30) the Upper Mississippi River System also 

19 includes over 975,000 acres of land protected by lev20 ees and needs a balanced ecosystem restoration pro21 gram that adequately considers the existing network 

22 of flood control infrastructure that protects thou23 sands of homes and businesses. 
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1 SEC. 2. ENHANCED NAVIGATION CAPACITY IMPROVE2 MENTS AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PLAN 

3 FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND IL4 LINOIS WATERWAY SYSTEM. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi6 nitions apply: 

7 (1) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the pre8 ferred integrated plan contained in the document en9 titled ‘‘Integrated Feasibility Report and Pro10 grammatic Environmental Impact Statement for the 

11 UMR–IWW System Navigation Feasibility System’’ 

12 and dated April 29, 2004. 

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

14 the Secretary of the Army. 

15 (3) UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ILLINOIS

16 WATERWAY SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Upper Mississippi 

17 River and Illinois Waterway System’’ means the 

18 projects for navigation and ecosystem restoration au19 thorized by Congress for—

20 (A) the segment of the Mississippi River 

21 from the confluence with the Ohio River, River 

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

23 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, River Mile 

24 854.0; and 

25 (B) the Illinois Waterway from its con26 fluence with the Mississippi River at Grafton, 
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1 Illinois, River Mile 0.0, to T.J. O’Brien Lock in 

2 Chicago, Illinois, River Mile 327.0. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF NAVIGA4 TION IMPROVEMENTS.—

5 (1) SMALL SCALE AND NONSTRUCTURAL MEAS6 URES.—At a cost of $24,000,000 in funds from the 

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

8 equal amount from the Inland Waterways Trust 

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

10 shall—

11 (A) construct mooring facilities at Locks 

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

13 (B) provide switchboats at Locks 20 

14 through 25 over 5 years for project operation; 

15 and 

16 (C) conduct development and testing of an 

17 appointment scheduling system. 

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

19 funds from the general fund of the Treasury, with 

20 an equal matching amount provided from the Inland 

21 Waterways Trust Fund (which is paid by the private 

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

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

24 Mississippi River and at LaGrange Lock and Peoria 

25 Lock on the Illinois Waterway. 
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1 (3) MITIGATION.—At a cost of $100,000,000 in 

2 funds from the general fund of the Treasury, with 

3 an equal matching amount provided from the Inland 

4 Waterway Trust Fund (which is paid by private 

5 users), the Secretary shall conduct mitigation for 

6 new locks and small scale and nonstructural meas7 ures authorized under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

8 (c) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AUTHORIZATION.—

9 (1) OPERATION.—To ensure the environmental 

10 sustainability of the existing Upper Mississippi River 

11 and Illinois Waterway System, the Secretary shall 

12 modify, consistent with requirements to avoid any 

13 adverse effects on navigation, the operation of the 

14 Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway Sys15 tem to address the cumulative environmental im16 pacts of operation of the system and improve the ec17 ological integrity of the Upper Mississippi River and 

18 Illinois River. 

19 (2) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 carry out, consistent with requirements to avoid 

22 any adverse effects on navigation, ecosystem 

23 restoration projects to attain and maintain the 

24 sustainability of the ecosystem of the Upper 

25 Mississippi River and Illinois River in accord-
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1 ance with the general framework outlined in the 

2 Plan. 

3 (B) PROJECTS INCLUDED.—Ecosystem 

4 restoration projects may include—

5 (i) island building; 

6 (ii) construction of fish passages; 

7 (iii) floodplain restoration; 

8 (iv) water level management (includ9 ing water drawdown); 

10 (v) backwater restoration; 

11 (vi) side channel restoration; 

12 (vii) wing dam and dike restoration 

13 and modification; 

14 (viii) island and shoreline protection; 

15 (ix) topographical diversity; 

16 (x) dam point control; 

17 (xi) use of dredged material for envi18 ronmental purposes; 

19 (xii) tributary confluence restoration; 

20 (xiii) spillway modification to benefit 

21 the environment; 

22 (xiv) land easement authority; and 

23 (xv) land acquisition. 

24 (C) COST SHARING.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

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

3 of carrying out an ecosystem restoration 

4 project under this paragraph shall be 65 

5 percent. 

6 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN RES7 TORATION PROJECTS.—In the case of a 

8 project under this paragraph for ecosystem 

9 restoration, the Federal share of the cost 

10 of carrying out the project shall be 100 

11 percent if the project—

12 (I) is located below the ordinary 

13 high water mark or in a connected 

14 backwater; 

15 (II) modifies the operation or 

16 structures for navigation; or 

17 (III) is located on federally 

18 owned land. 

19 (iii) NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA20 TIONS.—Nongovernmental organizations 

21 shall be eligible to contribute the non-Fed22 eral cost-sharing requirements applicable 

23 to projects under this paragraph. 

24 (D) LAND ACQUISITION.—The Secretary 

25 may acquire land or an interest in land for an 
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1 ecosystem restoration project from a willing 

2 owner through conveyance of—

3 (i) fee title to the land; or 

4 (ii) a flood plain conservation ease5 ment. 

6 (3) SPECIFIC PROJECTS AUTHORIZATION.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), the ecosystem restoration projects 

9 described in paragraph (2) shall be carried out 

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

11 (B) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE FUNDS.—

12 Of the amounts made available under subpara13 graph (A), not more than $35,000,000 for each 

14 fiscal year shall be available for land acquisition 

15 under paragraph (2)(D). 

16 (4) IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.—

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

18 30, 2005, and every 4 years thereafter, the Sec19 retary shall submit to the Committee on Envi20 ronment and Public Works of the Senate and 

21 the Committee on Transportation and Infra22 structure of the House of Representatives an 

23 implementation report that—
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1 (i) includes baselines, benchmarks, 

2 goals, and priorities for ecosystem restora3 tion projects; and 

4 (ii) measures the progress in meeting 

5 the goals. 

6 (B) ADVISORY PANEL.—

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

8 appoint and convene an advisory panel to 

9 provide independent guidance in the devel10 opment of each implementation report 

11 under subparagraph (A). 

12 (ii) PANELISTS.—Panelists shall in13 clude—

14 (I) 1 representative of each of 

15 the State resource agencies (or a des16 ignee of the Governor of the State) 

17 from each of the States of Illinois, 

18 Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wis19 consin; 

20 (II) 1 representative of the De21 partment of Agriculture; 

22 (III) 1 representative of the De23 partment of Transportation; 

24 (IV) 1 representative of the 

25 United States Geological Survey; 
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1 (V) 1 representative of the 

2 United States Fish and Wildlife Serv3 ice; 

4 (VI) 1 representative of the Envi5 ronmental Protection Agency; 

6 (VII) 1 representative of affected 

7 landowners; 

8 (VIII) 2 representatives of con9 servation and environmental advocacy 

10 groups; and 

11 (IX) 2 representatives of agri12 culture and industry advocacy groups. 

13 (iii) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Sec14 retary and the Secretary of the Interior 

15 shall serve as co-chairpersons of the advi16 sory panel. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

19 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 

20 carry out subsection (c) for fiscal years 2006 

21 through 2020. 

22 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—After fiscal year 2020—

23 (A) funds that have been made available 

24 under this subsection, but have not been ex25 pended, may be expended; and 
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1 (B) funds that have been authorized to be 

2 appropriated by this subsection, but have not 

3 been made available, may be made available.

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