U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) announced on June 7 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will receive a total of $10 million in approved federal funds to restore the deteriorating LaGrange Lock and Dam complex located in Cass County, Ill., on the Illinois River.
Approved by the Trump administration, according to the lawmakers, the funds will be used to upgrade the LaGrange facility, which includes a 1,066-foot dam and a 110-by-600 foot lock.
“LaGrange has been in dire need of repairs for years, making this funding much overdue,” said Rep. LaHood in a joint statement with Rep. Davis released on June 7. “By funding these much-needed repairs, we will be strengthening our local economy for years to come and I applaud this administration for taking action on this critical issue.”
Additionally, Reps. Davis and LaHood said that $1 million in funds has been authorized for the Army Corps of Engineers to restart work under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), which had been halted by the Obama administration.
Congress approved the NESP in 2007 to rehabilitate and expand seven locks and dams along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, where barges carry roughly 22 million tons of commodities annually between St. Louis, Chicago and the Twin Cities. The upgrade plan also would include environmental work, such as restoration of wetlands, forests, side channels and backwaters, shoreline protections and fish passages.
“NESP is critical to upgrading our locks and dams and while I’m disappointed the last administration did not make it a priority, I am glad the Trump administration is getting the ball rolling and I will continue to put pressure on the Army Corps to begin construction on these important projects as soon as possible,” said Rep. Davis.
“Our farmers and manufacturers rely on waterways to get their goods to market, and the LaGrange lock plays a vital role in that process,” Rep. LaHood said.
The Army Corps of Engineers has insisted a new study is needed before construction on projects can begin, according to the statement from the lawmakers. The House is expected this week to pass the fiscal year 2019 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2018, H.R. 3266, which includes language from Rep. Davis that would require this re-evaluation to be completed by 2020.
The same-named U.S. Senate bill, S. 1609, is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Davis explained that each time another shutdown occurs at LaGrange, the Illinois economy takes a hit and competitively moving agricultural commodities through the facility gets impacted.
“This funding will allow LaGrange to undergo repairs necessary to meet the demands of increased barge traffic along the Illinois River,” Rep. Davis said. “When this administration and Congress made a promise to make fixing our crumbling infrastructure a priority, this investment is a perfect example of following through on that promise.”
Aron Carlson, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, said “moving forward with updating LaGrange is long-awaited, great news for Illinois corn farmers who have been advocating for such improvements for decades.”
“Everyone knows LaGrange is a ticking time bomb for some type of failure,” Carlson said. “More than a third of Illinois’ corn production is exported via the inland waterways, so to say any disruption or closure on the system is costly to producers is an understatement.”
Mike Toohey, president and CEO of the Waterways Council Inc., applauded Reps. Davis and LaHood “for this monumental progress to realize NESP’s start.”
“This action provides an opportunity to take an updated, more comprehensive look at the vast benefits of the construction and utilization of more efficient locks at the seven key NESP lock sites, as well as smaller-scale infrastructure across the system, that will spur significant economic growth for the nation,” Toohey said.