Kentucky’s corn growers have been on the front lines to improve our Nation’s lock and dam infrastructure for nearly a decade. After all, with almost 1,590 miles, the Bluegrass State ranks fourth in the Nation in navigable waterways. Major waterways include the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers running along or through Kentucky.
The system relies on lock and dam infrastructure largely constructed in the early 20th century. With a design life of 50 years, this infrastructure needs recapitalization. That’s a reason Kentucky Corn is a member of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) a national public policy organization advocating for a modernized and well-maintained system of inland waterways infrastructure operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Our inland waterways facilitate the transport of one-third of the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product, and saves $7 billion – $9 billion annually in shipping costs, including our Nation’s corn exports and vital inputs to agriculture like fertilizer.
Kentucky Corn recognized the importance of the system enough that in 2023, we contributed a significant amount to WCI’s public education efforts, including state economic profiles. A recent study reveals 79 million tons of freight move annually along Kentucky’s waterways (the equivalent of 2 million trucks a year!), worth $5.2 billion. Nearly 158,000 jobs are dependent on Kentucky’s inland waterways, providing $10.1 billion in personal income, $18 billion in gross state product, $40 billion in total output, and $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenue. For Kentucky, corn and other agriculture products worth $763 million annually are topped only by natural gas and other fossil products, worth $804 million annually. You can read more about the economic impact of Kentucky’s inland waterways here.
A dozen lock and dam sites are in and along the state, and each year Kentucky Corn joins WCI in advocating for robust Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funding to keep them all working reliably. For the 11th consecutive year, the Corps has received record O&M funding levels through the Congressional appropriations process. This has allowed an 80% reduction in emergency lock closures since 2010, avoiding major disruptions in the supply chain.
WCI has also been working to ensure the continuation of construction funding to complete a new 1,200-foot lock chamber adjacent to the existing 600-foot chamber at Kentucky Lock, originally put into operation in 1942. WCI advocated for the completion of construction that led to the 2018 ribbon cutting for twin 1,200-foot chambers and a new dam at Olmsted Locks and Dam.
The work by Kentucky Corn and WCI has created strong support from Kentucky’s Congressional delegation. On the policy front, WCI has led the way on several successful endeavors, including important provisions to start or expedite lock construction in all of the Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA) since 2007. WRDA is biennial authorizing legislation for water-related policy, including projects and policies related to locks and dams.
WCI worked to ensure that when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in 2021, it included $2.5 billion for construction at seven locks on the system. Originally thought to be funded to completion, inflation-related cost overruns will require additional funding in subsequent fiscal years. Kentucky Corn and WCI will work to ensure these projects get funded to completion and become operational. According to E&E News, the Biden administration wants to increase the number of shovels in the ground for infrastructure law-related projects in 2024, with an aim of getting contracts in place prior to next January.
2023 brought operational challenges, with low water on most of the country’s major waterways for the second consecutive year. Lighter loading and smaller tow configurations (number of barges connected to each other) temporarily hamstrung the system, but those challenges also became opportunities to highlight the importance of river transportation through media outreach and public education.
Now we are working on a WRDA in this second session of the 118th Congress. To date, 18 bipartisan Senators and more than 20 (and still counting) Members of the House of Representatives have requested WCI’s policy provision to the authorizing committees. Kentucky Corn joins other WCI members in supporting the continuation of IIJA’s Congressional intent, namely completing the construction of these projects through full federal funding. The WRDA modification for these seven projects will avoid needless delays in expediting their completion.
While Congress has its share of dysfunction, Kentucky Corn and WCI are working to enact bipartisan, bicameral legislation that will assist in the effort for modern and reliable inland waterways infrastructure.
Learn more at www.waterwayscouncil.org