Weekly News Summary for December 25-31, 2006:
The Midwest Area River Coalition 2000 Board of Directors voted unanimously December 15 to merge with the Waterways Council Inc. The Waterways Council board previously approved the merger.
The unified group, which will still be called the Waterways Council Inc., will have a primary goal to begin lock construction on the Upper Mississippi River System by 2010.
Rick Tolman, MARC 2000 chairman, said the move makes both groups stronger.
“MARC 2000 has played a vital and effective role during its 15-year history,” said Tolman, chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association. “The resulting organization in this merger will be a stronger and more effective representation for water transportation issues and in particular, the Upper Mississippi River Basin, in the new and evolving political environment that we now face.”
MARC 2000 was formed in 1992 to promote Midwest economic growth through the responsible development and improvement of the infrastructure of the UMRS….
The Corps of Engineers found maintaining the embattled Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) east of New Orleans was not cost-effective, and closing it to both deep- and shallow-draft traffic with an armored earthen dam just south of Bayou La Loutre near Hopedale, La., “appears to be particularly viable.”
The preliminary analysis was in the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Deep Draft Deauthorization Interim Report, which John Paul Woodley Jr., assistant secretary of the Army-civil works, delivered to Congress on December 15. It followed a series of public meetings to gather input from interested stakeholders.
The interim report “offers a general analysis of local conditions, presents options for a plan to deauthorize the MR-GO channel for deep-draft and shallow-draft navigation, and provides a foundation for any required additional detailed analysis.”
A final report is due by December 2007, and will be incorporated into the final Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) report.
“Through incorporation into LACPR, additional measures to provide opportunities for hurricane storm protection and ecosystem restoration may complement MR-GO channel closure, including wetland shoreline protection, freshwater diversion, and dedicated dredging for coastal habitat creation,” the interim report said….
The Rock Island Engineer District received two maneuver boats late last week to help raise and lower the dams at the Peoria and LaGrange locks and dams. The boats should make operations at Peoria and LaGrange run much smoother, said Kenn Shoemaker, chief of operations for the Rock Island Engineer District.
“The old maneuver boats were built back in the 1930s, and they use old steam boilers,” Shoemaker said. “We’ve been trying for 10 years to get these replaced.”
In fact, one of the steam boilers at LaGrange is inoperable, and they are using other methods to raise and lower the wicket gates, he said. Several years ago, the Corps switched to using an excavator to raise and lower the LaGrange dam, cutting the time required in half.
Mike Cox, chief of the locks and dams on the Illinois Waterway, said he hopes to have the boats operational by the end of this week. The boats were due into Peoria December 22. One boat will continue on to LaGrange, possibly after the holidays. The pedestal cranes will be re-assembled on site.
He said the new system will be more efficient and much safer for the workers and reduce down time and navigational delays on the Illinois River….
Cheryl K Inc. purchased the 1,200 hp. mv. Raymond C. Peck from the Pittsburgh Engineer District for $1.3 million during an online auction.
“We’ve been on the hunt for a new boat, and the Raymond C. Peck was like a brand new boat. It was rock solid – serviced and maintained like most Corps boats,” said Brian Darnell, vice president of operations for Cheryl K.
Darnell said the boat will be repowered to 2,000 hp., replacing the GM 16V-92 diesels with Cummins engines. Other changes will include a new fleet deck and new bulwarks.
Darnell said the towboat will be renamed the Martha T after the wife of Earl Thrift, chief executive officer at Cheryl K. The Martha T will push a dedicated tow, working for Chemoil Corporation in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway with an area of operations from Corpus Christi, Texas, to New Orleans.
Patti Industries in Pensacola, Fla., built the twin screw vessel, which measures 100 feet by 28 feet, in 1983. The Pittsburgh Engineer District, the original owner, purchased it for $1.9 million….
Dense fog has created a backlog of more than 60 ships waiting at anchor to navigate the Houston Ship Channel, the waterway feeding the nation’s busiest oil and petrochemicals port, reported Reuters News Service and carried on a Coast Guard web site.
So far, area refiners say the delays in crude shipments are not causing operational delays. Energy experts have said the disruptions could cut into commercial crude oil and fuel stockpiles in the United States and potentially force refiners along the channel to reduce gasoline and distillate production.
Reuters quoted a spokeswoman for Valero Energy Corporation, the nation’s largest independent oil refiner, as saying breaks in the fog have allowed enough ships to move that the company operations were “still fine.”
Dense fog forced the temporary closure of the Houston Ship Channel for the sixth consecutive day on December 19, although Houston Pilots were able to move some ships during limited breaks in the fog….
The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)
