Acristickid
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From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
The days may be numbered for several Allegheny River navigation locks.
Anticipating funding cuts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is exploring plans to close five locks that are used by recreational boaters but have little commercial traffic.
The plans are in response to President Barack Obama's proposed 2012 budget, which would cut funding for Army Corps low-use navigation projects from $140 million in fiscal 2011 to $76 million, nationally.
Jeff Hawk, public affairs officer for the Army Corps' Pittsburgh District, said Mr. Obama's proposed budget would cut funding for the Allegheny River system in half to $4 million.
Republicans have yet to propose a 2012 budget.
"I think the writing is on the wall," Hawk said. "The problem is locks 5 through 9 [at Freeport, Clinton, Kittanning, Mosgrove and Rimer] get very little commercial traffic. What's being proposed is $1.9 million less than what it costs for the U.S. Army Corps to run the locks in the Allegheny system."
Lower Allegheny locks at Highland Park, Oakmont and Natrona Heights would remain open, with the possibility of some restrictions.
Eight locks and dams were built on the Allegheny in the 1920s and 1930s to keep the river at a year-round navigable depth of 9 feet or more for commercial traffic. Hawk said most of the locks are "way past their service life" and in need of upgrade, but generally operating safely.
From 2000 through 2009, 6,430 commercial vessels were locked through on the Allegheny River system, according to the Army Corps, averaging 2.5 million tons of cargo per year. By comparison, the Emsworth lock on the Ohio River moved about 10 times the cargo as the entire Allegheny River system.
The Allegheny River is more popular among recreational boaters, including anglers, water skiers, canoeists, kayakers and pontoon boaters. In 2010, the Army Corps charted 14,289 recreational lockages through Allegheny system locks, compared to 6,695 on the Monongahela River system. A single lockage can provide passage for multiple recreational boats.
If the upper Allegheny locks are closed, boaters would have to trailer their vessels, drive and relaunch to get around the dams, or limit excursions to individual pools.
Passage through the locks is free. While most recreational use is local, long-distance boaters currently can travel from the Port of Pittsburgh 981 miles down the Ohio River to the Mississippi. From there, they can turn upstream and through the Illinois River and a canal to enter the Great Lakes, bypass Niagra Falls and motor through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean. Or they can follow the Mississippi 900 miles downstream to New Orleans and the Caribbean Sea.
An act of Congress would be required to decommission the Allegheny locks. The Army Corps' plan calls for 18 employees to be transferred to fill job vacancies at other locks in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Corps will host two public meetings on the future of the Allegheny River system: 6 p.m. Tuesday, O'Hara Elementary School, 115 Cabin Lane, Fox Chapel; and 7 p.m. Thursday, West Kittanning Fire Department, 401 Arthur St., Kittanning.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11051/1126519-358.stm#ixzz1EVtEOiHm
The days may be numbered for several Allegheny River navigation locks.
Anticipating funding cuts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is exploring plans to close five locks that are used by recreational boaters but have little commercial traffic.
The plans are in response to President Barack Obama's proposed 2012 budget, which would cut funding for Army Corps low-use navigation projects from $140 million in fiscal 2011 to $76 million, nationally.
Jeff Hawk, public affairs officer for the Army Corps' Pittsburgh District, said Mr. Obama's proposed budget would cut funding for the Allegheny River system in half to $4 million.
Republicans have yet to propose a 2012 budget.
"I think the writing is on the wall," Hawk said. "The problem is locks 5 through 9 [at Freeport, Clinton, Kittanning, Mosgrove and Rimer] get very little commercial traffic. What's being proposed is $1.9 million less than what it costs for the U.S. Army Corps to run the locks in the Allegheny system."
Lower Allegheny locks at Highland Park, Oakmont and Natrona Heights would remain open, with the possibility of some restrictions.
Eight locks and dams were built on the Allegheny in the 1920s and 1930s to keep the river at a year-round navigable depth of 9 feet or more for commercial traffic. Hawk said most of the locks are "way past their service life" and in need of upgrade, but generally operating safely.
From 2000 through 2009, 6,430 commercial vessels were locked through on the Allegheny River system, according to the Army Corps, averaging 2.5 million tons of cargo per year. By comparison, the Emsworth lock on the Ohio River moved about 10 times the cargo as the entire Allegheny River system.
The Allegheny River is more popular among recreational boaters, including anglers, water skiers, canoeists, kayakers and pontoon boaters. In 2010, the Army Corps charted 14,289 recreational lockages through Allegheny system locks, compared to 6,695 on the Monongahela River system. A single lockage can provide passage for multiple recreational boats.
If the upper Allegheny locks are closed, boaters would have to trailer their vessels, drive and relaunch to get around the dams, or limit excursions to individual pools.
Passage through the locks is free. While most recreational use is local, long-distance boaters currently can travel from the Port of Pittsburgh 981 miles down the Ohio River to the Mississippi. From there, they can turn upstream and through the Illinois River and a canal to enter the Great Lakes, bypass Niagra Falls and motor through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean. Or they can follow the Mississippi 900 miles downstream to New Orleans and the Caribbean Sea.
An act of Congress would be required to decommission the Allegheny locks. The Army Corps' plan calls for 18 employees to be transferred to fill job vacancies at other locks in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Corps will host two public meetings on the future of the Allegheny River system: 6 p.m. Tuesday, O'Hara Elementary School, 115 Cabin Lane, Fox Chapel; and 7 p.m. Thursday, West Kittanning Fire Department, 401 Arthur St., Kittanning.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11051/1126519-358.stm#ixzz1EVtEOiHm
