Mississippi River Study
What is the US Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi River Disposition Study?
Congress directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to conduct a combined disposition study on the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam (USAF), Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam (LSAF), and Lock and Dam 1 on the Upper Mississippi River in the Twin Cities. These types of studies determine whether it is in the federal government's best interest for the Corps to continue operating and owning locks and dams after they no longer serve their original authorized purpose.
In October 2018 Congress passed the America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) which directed the Corps to prioritize studying the USAF Lock and Dam to enhance recreation opportunities. Leaders and residents in Minneapolis have plans to improve public access to the area surrounding the locks and are eager to begin in order to secure funding. The Corps began this process in August 2019.
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What Options and Alternatives are the Corps Evaluating in Their Study?
The Corps is currently evaluating a No Action alternative, a Partial Disposal alternative, and a Full Disposal alternative for the Upper Saint Anthony Falls Lock. No Action means that the Corps will continue to maintain and operate the lock. Partial disposal means that the Corps would deauthorize parts of the lock and surrounding property (apart from some property that must be conveyed to the City of Minneapolis under the Water Resources Development Act of 2020) and sell them to a new owner. The Full Disposal alternative includes the deathorization and selling of all lock structures and surrounding property currently owned by the Corps.
Timeline on the Upper Saint Anthony Falls Disposition Study
The Army Corps' Public Engagement Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Corps to accept public comments as part of their study process. In August 2019 the Corps held one public meeting in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. Representatives from the Corps responded to questions from the public and listened to comments. The Corps also had two separate open periods in 2019 and 2021 for people to submit written comments.
We itemized all of these comments, transcribed both public meetings, and analyzed common themes, concerns, and questions from the public, as well as common responses from the Corps.
Common Concerns from the Public
Many individuals commented on dam removal in the 2019 and 2021 public comments periods, despite that option being eliminated early on in the Corp's study. In the 2019 comments, three people were interested in the removal of the USAF Lock. In one of the 2019 public meetings, a commenter said “I would speak to how beautiful the gorge is, family members who are older than me who would [say] 'you think this is gorgeous? You should see before the dams were here.'" We believe this comment demonstrates the sentiment that the lock damages the river's appearance.
Another 2019 comment said, “If the lock is no longer going to be used then we would be in favor of the federal government getting out of the lock business and restore the area to what it was before the lock and then leave." Concerns about the lock and dam removal's impact on water quality, wildlife, river flow, and water levels were common. The Corps responded to these comments and questions by advising the public to contact Congress and urge them to change the scope of the study.
"The Army Corps built the Lock on Dakota homeland. It further desecrated the sacred Falls and Spirit Island, sites that are sacred to Indigenous Peoples"
-Robert Lilligren, President and CEO of the Native American Community DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
Very few comments referenced Indigenous rights. In the 2021 public comments, 13 people commented that St. Anthony Falls is a sacred place for Indigenous people. Tom Evers, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation said, "St. Anthony Falls remains a place sacred to Indigenous people from [a] time immemorial; we have a responsibility to uphold and honor that tradition for generations to come." Robert Lilligren, President and CEO of the Native American Community Development Institute said: "The Army Corps built the Lock on Dakota homeland. It further desecrated the sacred Falls and Spirit Island, sites that are sacred to Indigenous Peoples". Another public meeting commenter also stated, "So they [the Dakota people] are the real owners of the Mississippi River - so if we're going to sell, why can't we just give it back to the Dakota people."
Several individuals asked questions and left comments about the scope of the Corp's study during the 2019 public meetings. Members of the public were confused why the Corp's primary mission, and thus study scope, did not include securing water supply or recreation. One commenter from the St. Paul public meeting said, “The potential loss of a very important urban natural treasure, changing the dynamic of river flow goes beyond my own level of appreciation for what was once a manageable river to be explored by many to a fast body of water with limited access and potentially fast and dangerous rapids, would be the wrong direction for the Corps.” In response to these concerns over public access and recreation, Corps representatives explained that the study focuses on navigation because that is the lock's authorized purpose by Congress. The Corps urged public commenters to direct their concerns over the study scope to Congress directly. Individuals were also concerned that if the Corps sold the lock, it would fall into disrepair, or public access and recreation would decrease. People questioned if the public would be able to influence the future of the lock if it was sold to a private company.
“[The Corps is] the only entity that can continue to manage these structures with the expertise and oversight that considers its effect on the system of locks, dams, cutoff wall, bridges, flood mitigation, municipal water, industrial uses, transportation, and recreation that impacts millions of Americans"
-jacob frey, Minneapolis Mayor
Despite the fact that the water supply from the Mississippi River supplies 18 million people with fresh drinking water, water safety, flooding, and clean water are not priorities in the disposition study. However, they were common topics in the public comments. Miriam Slayhi, president of the Bottineau Neighborhood Association, voiced "The Army Corps should continue to own and maintain the Lock itself; Congress and the Army Corps must acknowledge that water supply is a federal interest, not merely a local and regional interest." Even Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says that “[the Corps is] the only entity that can continue to manage these structures with the expertise and oversight that considers its effect on the system of locks, dams, cutoff wall, bridges, flood mitigation, municipal water, industrial uses, transportation, and recreation that impacts millions of Americans."
How the Army Corps Addresses Comments and Questions
The Corps often classified questions as comments instead of answering them. In multiple instances, a concerned member of the public would spend a few minutes outlining several big questions about the disposition study, and the Corps would respond that it sounded like a comment rather than a question. Many people asked the same questions several times because they felt they were not being answered; the Corps continued not to answer questions fully by saying, “Thank you for your question. I don’t really have an answer for you.” At the St. Paul meeting, many questions were handed off to Corps specialists.
What to Expect from the Army Corps Moving Forward
In December 2020 the Corps published a draft report on their USAF disposition study recommending full disposal of the lock, meaning all infrastructure still owned by the Corps would be sold or transferred to a new owner. Some land that was previously owned by the Corps must be conveyed to the City of Minneapolis under the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) which passed December 27, 2020, regardless of the study outcome.
The Corps took final public comments on the draft report until March 18, 2021 and will respond to them in the final report, due to be complete during summer 2021. After the USAF study is completed, the Corps will turns its attention toward studying the Lower St. Anthony Dam and Lock and Dam 1.