 
|
|||||||||
              
|
Up-river boaters fear they'll be cast adrift Rally today supports lock, dam operations Sunday, September 06, 1998 By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Recreational boaters are worried that future federal funding reductions will shut down some of the locks and dams on the Allegheny River that help float their boats.
They say Locks and Dams 8 and 9, respectively located 52 miles and 62 miles up-river from Pittsburgh, would be among the first targets for closing if budget cuts cause some facilities operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close.
The Corps has no plans to close any lock or dam this year, and Dick Dowling, a spokesman for the Corps' Pittsburgh District, said the Clinton administration's current budget proposal would fund full operation of all navigational locks and dams on the Allegheny, Monongahela and upper Ohio rivers through October 1999.
But boaters aren't waiting for the Corps' budget to hit the shoals. They're making a splash now.
"We're raising the issue now, before decisions are made that would be impossible to reverse," said Jim Schmitt, publisher of the boating magazine Anchors Aweigh. "The Corps has clearly indicated that closing the locks and dams is not off the table in future years, and our feeling is closing the facilities shouldn't be on the table at all."
He said a "Rock the Locks" river rally scheduled from noon to midnight today at the Boardwalk in the Strip District is designed to show boater support and solidarity for continued operation of the locks and dams.
"If the locks and dams are closed, it will turn upper-river pools into lakes, making it impossible for boats to pass the dams and cutting off access to some of the best boating water in the region," Schmitt said.
"What we're doing with Sunday's protest is calling on politicians to realize the impact of such dam closings on the economies of the recreational and commercial boating industries."
The Corps' Pittsburgh District operates 23 locks and dams on the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers and on the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to New Martinsville, W.Va.
The locks and dams on the Allegheny River were built to support commercial navigation. But commercial use, especially on the upper pools, has dwindled, and the river now is among the lowest in commercial use in the nation.
"There could be tough choices down the road, and if we have to make (budget) cuts, the obvious targets would be those facilities that have the least use," Dowling said. "In the Pittsburgh District, the least-used facilities are those on the upper reaches of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers."
Lock 9 on the Allegheny River, between East Brady, Clarion County, and Templeton, Armstrong County, has not had any commercial cargo traffic for five years, and Lock 8, between Templeton and Mosgrove, Armstrong County, has averaged about 425,000 tons a year over the same period. By comparison, Allegheny River Lock 2 near Aspinwall and Lock 3 at Harmar handled five times that tonnage each year.
But recreational use in the upper Allegheny River pools has picked up. An average of 1,000 boats a year have locked through Lock and Dam 8 during the past five years, and 1,200 a year have used Lock and Dam 9. This averages about 12 recreational boats a day for each day the lock was open at each dam.
In addition, commercial passenger vessels, including the Gateway Clipper Fleet, make about a dozen trips through Lock 9 each year and two dozen trips through Lock 8 each year.
In evaluating funding for facilities such as locks and dams, the Corps is required to consider only commercial tonnage, not recreational lockage numbers, Dowling said.
"That would put the upper Allegheny at a distinct disadvantage if or when future budget cuts force reductions in service," he said.
Some small service reductions are already proposed for commercial river traffic. Because the fiscal 1999 budget proposal of $6,791,000 for the Corps' Pittsburgh District is the same as for fiscal 1998, the Corps will eliminate special after-hours lock operations on Allegheny Locks and Dams 5 through 9. That will save about $200,000 a year in overtime and costs.
Dowling said the Corps appreciated the popularity of its facilities with recreational boaters and recognized the concerns of both commercial and recreational river users.
"We encourage all users of the waterways to make their views known, and we have promised to keep the public fully informed of any proposed service cuts should they become necessary in future years."
|
||||||||
