Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is leading a letter this week to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding its work plan for the renovation and expansion of locks and dams along the Mississippi River.
During his weekly press call with farm reporters Tuesday, Grassley talked about the importance of the $6.5 billion in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the Corps, some of which will be used to improve inland waterway infrastructure. Grassley says the Corps? work plan is due in January.
?We?re asking the Corps to prioritize funding for NESP, or for short, the lock and dam modernization,? Grassley said. ?That?s mostly on the Upper Mississippi, which I think starts at St. Louis. As many of you know, the NESP will improve Mississippi?s capacity to improve cargo movement and will reduce commercial traffic delays that we have ? although that are somewhat improved since we increased the diesel tax by 9 cents ? but still not fast enough for an 80-year-old infrastructure on the Mississippi River.?
Grassley says nearly every agriculture group in the Midwest is supportive of infrastructure and his letter to the Corps of Engineers.
?Because 70% of what we move through the Mississippi is related to agriculture,? Grassley said. ?This lock and dam modernization was one of the top five infrastructure priorities for our state of Iowa. The additional funding and new start authority for the Corps of Engineers was a very important reason why I voted for the infrastructure bill. I will continue to work to get these locks updated because I know how important it is to Iowa?s agriculture.?
Grassley says farm groups have lobbied for decades for improved locks and dams.
