City Council President Arnie Fielkow authored a resolution in response to the Army Corps of Engineers scaling back dredging of the Mississippi River. The resolution, which Fielkow will bring before the City Council in tomorrow’s regular meeting, asks that the Army Corps of Engineers use its funds in a manner that will allow the full dredging to 45 feet of the New Orleans District of the Mississippi River. The River, which is currently at a depth of 44 feet, frequently silts in and requires dredging by the Army Corps of Engineers in order to maintain its Congress-authorized 45 foot depth. The Army Corps of Engineers announced it would no longer ensure funding for the required dredging.
Due to the one foot loss of depth, the Associated Branch Pilots, who represent state-licensed pilots entering and departing from the mouth of the river, began limiting the draft of ships in late January 2011 to no more than 44 feet of draft. It has been estimated that in order to reduce a ship’s draft by one foot, exporters will need to reduce cargo worth between $250,000 and $800,000 per ship. This cargo limitation affects what all American manufacturers, farmers and producers up and down the Mississippi are able export, which diminishes U.S. competiveness at a time when the nation is focusing on export expansion.
The Mississippi River is America’s largest river system, which connects 29 states in the heartland of the country with international markets. Roughly 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports are shipped from the Mississippi River, with the estimated value of foreign trade passing through the New Orleans District valued at between $85 and $104 billion annually. One in seven jobs in the State of Louisiana is dependent on the Mississippi waterway, while direct employment generates $3.8 billion in earnings and $22 billion of output, accounting for approximately 13% of the state’s gross domestic product.
“This is a time when the nation should be focusing on exports to international markets, as President Obama said in his State of the Union Address. However, these new draft limits on cargo ships are stunting our growth and expansion in the global marketplace. If the cargo limitations continue, shipping could be driven to other markets, which will have a lasting impact on our economy. I ask that the Army Corps of Engineers realize the gravity of this situation and fund the full dredging that is required to optimize shipping in and out of the Mississippi River,” said Fielkow.
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Contact:
Danielle Viguerie
Communications Director
Office of Councilmember Arnie Fielkow
Ph: (504) 658-1063
daviguerie@nola.gov
