Weekly News Summary For July 17-23, 2006:
Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Close MR-GO
A class action lawsuit was filed in federal court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to force closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) east of New Orleans.
The suit asks the federal court to “appoint a special master and a panel of scientific experts to study the dangers posed by the channel and recommend ways to address them, including reviving now-destroyed wetlands that protected against storm surges before the waterway was built,” reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
It alleges that the Corps has ignored federal and state laws requiring studies of the environmental effects of the MR-GO since before the channel was dug in the 1960’s.
The suit was filed by eight residents of St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, including two public officials. It was brought by 12 law firms from Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and California.
The same group of lawyers filed a federal court damage suit in April on behalf of a local TV new anchorman and others, blaming the flooding that destroyed their property during Hurricane Katrina on the MR-GO, which they branded a “hurricane highway,” the paper reported.
Closure of the MR-GO is opposed by the Port of New Orleans in part because seven business are located along it need deep-water access to the Gulf of Mexico….
The St. Louis Engineer District mobilized its dredge Potter July 13, well in advance of its scheduled August 1 activation date. The Potter left the Corps Service Base at the foot of Arsenal Street in St. Louis and headed to its first dredging location near Upper Mississippi River Mile 161, just north of the mouth of the Meramec River.
The decision to mobilize the dredge was made in response to low water levels on the Mississippi River and little precipitation in the long-range weather forecast, the district said. The river at the St. Louis gauge was at minus 1.0 feet July 13, giving navigation roughly 12 feet of water in the navigation channel at that location. The river was predicted to rise slightly over the weekend, then return to about the –1 foot level for two weeks.
The U.S. Coast Guard issued a safety advisory suggesting that heavy draft vessels move off the Upper Mississippi River immediately; that mariners use extra caution and be cognizant of tow drafts, as well as shifting channel conditions and water level changes; and that tow sizes be limited on southbound and northbound barges.
Peggy O’Bryan, St. Louis Engineer District chief of operations, explained that the decision to mobilize Dredge Potter was based on river stages, weather forecasts, water inflows, channel surveys and reports from industry on channel conditions.
“The district is charged with maintaining a safe and dependable navigation channel on 300 miles of the Mississippi River, 80 miles of the Illinois River and 36 miles of the Kaskaskia River,” she said. “Dredging in conjunction with the operation of the lock and dam system on the Upper Mississippi and channel structures work together to ensure the nine-foot navigation channel….”
The National Waterways Conference Inc. (NWC) will hold its 2006 annual meeting in Portland, Ore., September 6–8. It will be the first time NWC has convened its annual meeting on the West Coast since the organization was founded in 1960.
“The Pacific Northwest has an intriguing transportation system, and their approach to dealing with major environmental challenges makes Portland a great venue for our meeting this year,” said Scott Robinson, NWC chairman and executive director of the Muskogee City-County Port Authority in Oklahoma.
The annual meeting, with the theme “Prepare Today for the Needs of Tomorrow,” will bring together key government and industry decision-makers from throughout the nation to address current and emerging issues that potentially affect the future viability of the nation’s ports and waterways. The two-day program will include presentations by regional leaders concerning opportunities and challenges faced by navigation and flood-control interests, such as endangered-species compliance, levee protection and transportation congestion. Leaders from nearly 400 businesses, industries, public agencies, and regional waterway groups are expected to attend the meeting. The meeting will be held in conjunction with the Arkansas Waterways Commission, the Inland Waterways Intermodal Cooperative Program Group of the Maritime Administration and the Regional Navigation Design Team of the Corps of Engineers….
American Electric Power’s Ohio River fossil power plant and Dayton Power & Light’s J.M. Stuart Plant at Aberdeen, Ohio, recently received unique barges constructed at Serodino Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn.
Pete Serodino said the three 50- by 50- foot T-barges were delivered to American Electric Power, where they will be placed upstream of two ice-breaker cells with the stem of the “T” between the cells. The unique design allows a loaded fleet to attach to the base of the T for safe mooring in fluctuating water conditions.
“The T-barges solve the problem with barges going up and down, breakaways and concerns with the Coast Guard,” he said. “With weekends, and especially nights, those barges can move up or down with the water levels and potentially become loose. With the T-barge, the barge is connected with the other cells, protecting the integrity of the connection.”
The barges were delivered on a 54- by 275- foot deck barge to AEP’s Kyger Plant at Cheshire, Ohio, the Mountaineer Plant at New haven, W.Va., and the Cardinal Plant at Wellsburg, Ohio.
A shuttle barge for Dayton Power & Light also made the trip. Serodino said the shuttle barge allows for almost continuous unloading. It is positioned as to allow offloading on both side of the shuttle barge, which cuts down on the amount of switching necessary to move barges in and out of dock. As soon as one barge is offloaded, crews turn their attention to the other nearby barge. By the time the second barge is unloaded, another loaded barge is in place waiting offloading. Serodino said it saves about a half an hour for every barge, so if someone is unloading a number of barges a day, it is a significant savings….
The Ave Maria, a 2,000 hp pushboat, left Quality Shipyard in Houma, La., June 23 and became the 30th boat in the fleet of Eckstein Marine Service of Harahan, La. It is a sister ship to the Redeemer, which was launched late last year.
Vaughn McDaniel, Eckstein vice president of human resources, said three more boats are under construction as the firm continues to modernize its fleet of boats, which push barges with both dry cargo and petroleum products.
The Saviour, the 10th boat Eckstein has built at Quality Shipyard, is scheduled for a December 2006 delivery.
“Quality has done a remarkable job, staying on schedule and delivering two boats last year despite the hurricanes,” McDaniel said.
Two additional boats are being built at LaForce Shipyard in Bayou la Batre, Ala. One will be named the St. Jude Thaddeus; the second is not yet named.
That will bring the fleet back to 33 boats. Eckstein sold two older boats recently. McDaniel said 35 is a target number for company vessels, with about two-thirds on charter and one-third in “tramp” service.
Eckstein had marine architect Corning Townsend design the Ave Maria and Redeemer with more crew comfort in mind, including satellite television in each stateroom and an extra deck that will provide better visibility over the tow. The extra deck houses the captain’s stateroom and head….
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