JOC Staff | Nov 27, 2012 1:51PM EST
The American Waterways Operators, National Waterways Conference, Waterways Council and 15 other national organizations today submitted a letter to President Obama and the Federal Emergency Management Agency requesting a presidential declaration of emergency, pursuant to Section 501(b) of the Stafford Act, to call attention to the Mississippi River’s near historic low water levels threatening barge traffic.
The letter also asks the president to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove rock pinnacles in the river and release water from Missouri River reservoirs to preserve the nine-foot channel needed to sustain commercial navigation.
The groups warn that the economic impacts of a Mississippi River closure would put $7 billion of products at risk in December and January alone.