Declining fuel use by barge operators combined with rising construction costs for other dam projects are draining the funding pool for the new lock at Chickamauga Dam.
Without Congressional action, work may be suspended within the next year on one of Chattanooga's biggest construction projects. Under the current funding approach, there isn't enough money to continue building new locks at both the Chickamauga and Kentucky dams on the Tennessee River, according to a report given to the Inland Waterway Users Board last month.
"We're facing the prospect of at least a decade-long suspension of work on the new Chickamauga Lock, which could close off the river altogether above Chattanooga in the next five years or so, unless something is done," said Cline Jones, executive director of the Tennessee River Valley Association, a barge industry group based in Decatur, Ala.
Tennessee lawmakers say they are intent on keeping the lock project moving ahead to avoid closing off the Chickamauga Lock and more than 318 miles of navigable river above Chattanooga. Congressional backers of the Chickamauga Lock are considering industry proposals this winter, ranging from higher diesel taxes on barges to a special appropriation under an upcoming military spending bill.
The current lock at the Chickamauga Dam, which opened in 1940, is suffering from "concrete growth" and even with extra maintenance could become inoperable after 2015. In its place, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a larger lock comparable with those downstream of Chattanooga to allow barges to pass through the Chickamauga Dam quicker and at less cost.
PDF: Inland Marine Transporation strategyArmy Corps of Engineers ongoing lock projectsOlmsted* Location: On the Ohio River in Olmsted, Illinois* Built: Opened in 1929* Shipments: 96 million tons of cargo a year* When project started: 1996* Estimated cost: $2.1 billion* Spent so far: More than $900 millionChickamauga* Location: On the Tennessee River in Chattanooga* Built: Opened in 1940* Shipments: 2 million tons of cargo a year* When project started: 2003* Estimated Cost: $375 million up to $600 million* to replace current 75-foot by* Spent so far: About $200 millionSource: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Rep. Zach WampKentucky* Location: On the Tennessee River near Paducah, Ky.* Built: Opened in 1944* Shipments: 34 million tons of cargo* When project started: 1999* Estimated cost: $734 million; Army Corps of Engineers latest estimate is $375 million, but with aggressive maintenance of existing lock and extended schedule, the project cost could approach $600 millionSource: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Rep. Zach WampShipping alternatives* One 15-barge tow is equal to 216 railcars and six locomotives and 1,050 semi-tractor trailers on the highway.* The 600 tons of cargo shipped on America's inland waterway moved at about two thirds the cost of rail shipments and 10 percent of the cost of trucks.Source: U.S. Army Corps of EngineersWhere the money comes fromCommercial users of navigable rivers pay 20 cents per gallon of fuel into the Inland Waterways Fuel Tax Trust Fund, which matches federal appropriated funds for Army Corps of Engineers' projects. The tax generates about $85 million a year, but that tax combined with federal appropriations generates only a fraction of the estimated $7 billion expense to complete current Corps projects, including the Chickamauga Lock replacement.Unlocking more fundsTo help fund more projects, the Inland Waterway Users Board has recommended:* Increasing the fuel tax from 20 cents per gallon up to 29 cents per gallon* Full federal funding of all dams and lock rehabilitation projects less than $100 million* Waterways trust fund will provide 50 percent funding for the original estimated project costs; federal funding for cost overrunsSource: Recommendations being considered by the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and U.S. Congress
Over the past six years, the Corps has spent nearly $200 million to prepare the site and build a coffer dam to install a new and bigger lock. But funding delays, higher commodity costs and additional construction demands could more than double the initial $267 million cost of completing the new and bigger lock and maintaining the existing lock at Chickamauga.
Without new sources of money, the $2.1 billion Olmsted Dam and Lock project on the Ohio River and other Corps projects will absorb all of the Corps' funding for new projects for the next decade and force a suspension of work at the Chickamauga and Kentucky locks.
U.S. Rep. Wamp, R-Chattanooga, said 2010 is a critical year for changing the way lock projects are funded.
"Unfortunately, we don't fund major infrastructure projects like we do battleships where all of the money is there when you authorize the project," he said. "These infrastructure projects are an annual challenge and frankly it is probably one of the reasons that the lock didn't get replaced for so long."
funding debate
Tennessee's U.S. senators pledged last week to work to get funding to sustain the Chickamauga Lock project.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a member of the Senate Appropriations and Environment and Public Works Committees, said he is carefully reviewing the 20-year plan being developed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the companies that transport cargo through the nation's locks.
"It will be easier for us to secure the necessary funds if that 20-year plan puts Chickamauga Lock at the top of its priority list," Sen. Alexander said. "It's been an uphill battle but an important one because moving more cargo through a new lock means new jobs for East Tennesseans and could take 100,000 big trucks off of I-75 each year."
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said he is watching the recommendations from commercial users of the river about ways to better fund needed river navigation improvements.
"As a former Chattanooga mayor, I understand the importance of Chickamauga Lock and its economic importance to our region," he said.
But Steve Ellis, a vice president for Taxpayers for Common Sense, said it would be "preposterous and greedy" to use federal taxpayer dollars to pay for a bigger share of the costs of the nation's water transportation network. Mr. Ellis said river shipments are already the most subsidized form of transportation in America "and those that use the system should do more to pay for it."
"The trust fund is broke because the level of taxes hasn't increased since the tax was started in the 1970s and the Corps of Engineers has a nasty habit of overestimating the benefits of its programs and underestimating the costs of what it builds," he said.
Mr. Ellis said he is encouraged that barge operators appear ready to support some type of higher diesel fuel charges "so that the American taxpayer doesn't have to pay for all of these costly projects that benefit the barge industry."
But when former President Bush proposed a fee for using river locks two years ago, the idea was quickly shot down by industry groups and nearly two dozen U.S. senators who signed a letter opposing such charges.
construction delays
Rep. Wamp said the cost of the Olmsted project has doubled from its original estimate, but much of that reflects the delayed schedule and annual budgeting that prevents the Corps from making long-term, more efficient contracts for major projects.
At the Chickamauga Lock, the project has been delayed by at least five years from its original schedule and Rep. Wamp said the total project is likely to now cost about $600 million.
Wayne Huddleston, the Corps' project manager for the new Chickamauga Lock, said contractors are building small, rock-filled islands in the river to form new walls for a cofferdam, which will be completed this year using a portion of nearly $60 million of federal stimulus plan. Much of the equipment for the new lock will be stored at TVA's Muscle Shoals Reservation until funding is provided to build the new lock, Mr. Huddleston said.
Mark Hommrich, general manager for Volunteer Barge and Transport in Brentwood, Tenn., and chairman of the Tennessee River Valley Association, said securing funding through Congress for lock projects have created problems and escalated costs through delays and uncertainties.
"Congress approves these projects, but then they don't fund them going forward," he said. "When work is deferred, it tends to increase the cost."
legislative solutions
Rep. Wamp, who has touted the Chickamauga Lock replacement as his top legislative priority, said his first priority is to make changes in the renewal of the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) to include recommendations from the Inland Waterway Users Board.
For the first time, barge operators are supporting an increase in the fuel tax to add to the shrinking trust fund drained by rising costs of the projects it funds and lower revenues due to the recession. The board also suggested that Congress not just match industry funds for water projects, but fully fund dam improvements and lock repairs under $100 million.
"We're not happy about any tax increase, but we recognize that something has to be done," Mr. Hommrich said.
Rep. Wamp said if changes are not possible through the reauthorization of WRDA, he may try to include the lock in a supplemental funding for the military or attach the funding to some other appropriations measure, including any second jobs or stimulus package.
Mr. Jones said he hopes that Congress might waive the usual matching requirement from the waterway trust fund for inland waterway projects because of the federal facilities such as Oak Ridge and TVA that would be cut off if the Chickamauga Lock were to shut down and the upper third of the Tennessee River were cut off from navigation.
"The two TVA nuclear plants and the Department of Energy facilities upstream of Chattanooga and the Chickamauga Lock make this project a good candidate to waive the usual requirements (to match federal dollars with those from the Inland Waterway Users Trust Fund)," he said.
If Congress funded the Olmsted Dam project and fuel taxes were increased, there would be enough money in the trust fund to sustain work on both the Chickamauga and Kentucky locks, according to David Grier of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The average lock on America's inland waterway system is more than 50 years old and some changes must be made to maintain the aging system, he said.
"The consequences are increasing incidents of downtime and a higher risk of a major component failure," he said.
Dave Fairchild, plant manager for Olin Corp. in Charleston, Tenn., said maintaining the Chickamauga Lock "is critical to the operations of our facility" to receive salt and other raw materials.
"The new lock is a key to economic development in Eastern Tennessee," he said.