UMRIPD (Upper Mississippi River International Port District) is proposing to build a barge terminal into Brickhouse Slough at the former Savanna Army Depot in Jo Davies and Carroll Counties. The terminal would connect a grain elevator, and planned soy crusher and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) storage facilities via a conveyor across the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge to service the barges in the slough. Barges will cut through Apple River Island to reach the terminal, requiring dredging for widening and deepening the approach. Footings for the conveyor and a 1000 x 100 ft dock would also be built in the slough, which is home to several endangered mussel species and is adjacent to a large, fragile sand dune. The main concerns about the terminal are about the effects on navigation, recreation and wildlife.
UMRIPD has a $7 million IDOT grant for land acquisition, remediation, and utilities. The estimated cost of construction is $100-138 million, to be covered through state and federal grants (taxpayer money!). The economics of the plan are questionable, as a small barge terminal would provide very few permanent jobs.
Opposing the barge terminal has been adopted as an official campaign of the NW River Valley’s Sierra Club chapter and a group of citizens along the river are working with Sam Beard, Sierra Club Conservation organizer, on finding ways to stop the project. NWRV first heard about planned developments at the Depot when they were approached about submitting a comment on the Army’s Environmental Impact Statement for another, larger barge terminal nearby, which is in the Depot’s long range plans.
Additional Info:
Here is more information on the plans for taxpayer funded projects in Brickhouse Slough at the old Savanna Army Depot. There are now two proposals for barge terminals:
one proposal is by the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) in a severely contaminated wetland where the Apple River flows into the Mississippi
the other is by UMRIPD (Upper Mississippi River International Port District) and is described in their Master Plan. It is upriver from the LRA proposed project, inside Brickhouse Slough.
The LRA terminal project cannot proceed until the Army releases the land to the LRA. It would cost many millions of dollars for contamination removal and do irreversible damage to a wetland. We are waiting for the final Environmental Impact Assessment by the Army.
The UMRIPD Master Plan is for a terminal that would have a conveyor to bridge the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and access barges that will cut through Apple River Island to reach the slough. The barge dock would consist of a 1000’x100’ platform, supported by piles driven into the slough along the FWS land, just below a control dam. The main products to be shipped are grain and fertilizer, with a soy crushing facility to be added later. There are already six barge terminals between Dubuque, IA and Savanna, IL, four of them in Illinois. This new terminal would mainly benefit Eastland Feed & Grain, Inc. at the Savanna Industrial Park.
UMRIPD has a $7 million grant for land acquisition, remediation, and utilities from IDOT’s Rebuild Illinois program. They are actively pursuing a “fleeting” (temporary barge parking) permit for the main channel side of Apple River Island as the first part of their project.
A group of citizens here are very concerned about these plans for more industrial development on the river. We have many worries about the effects on navigation, recreation and wildlife. The planned terminal is in the Mississippi Flyway bird migration route, it is adjacent to the Lost Mound Unit of the Upper Mississippi River National Fish & Wildlife Refuge and Apple River Island is directly across from Green Island Wildlife Management Area in IA. Brickhouse Slough is a beloved boating and fishing spot due to its wildlife, fish and mussel variety – as the locals say, “there is no other slough like Brickhouse”.
We also question the economics of the plan. Barge traffic is declining and river conditions are increasingly extreme, from droughts to floods. There is also a $1.5 billion backlog on lock and dam maintenance which affects the lock and dam system’s performance. At an estimated cost of $138 million that is expected to be covered through state and federal grants (taxpayer money!), a small barge terminal would provide very few permanent jobs. They expect to service one fifteen-barge tow per week and it really doesn’t make sense to commit all these natural and financial resources for that.
The UMRIPD board approved the final version of their master plan at their meeting on March 5th. A recording of the meeting and the slide deck are available at: https://www.savannaindustrialpark.org/notices. UMRIPD is now working on permits and looking for funding.
We encourage you to question the need for these costly and destructive projects. They just don't make sense! This region depends on tourism and recreation protected by a National Refuge system. Adding an industrial port in the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge would have major drawbacks to both sides of the river. Of course we welcome economic development to the area, provided it is fiscally sound and does not negatively impact the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge which offers safe habitat for many endangered and protected wildlife species, access to the natural environment, public use and recreation of Brickhouse Slough specifically – all since 1924!
Our legislators are concerned about using public funding for private enterprises and we should let them know about the latest developments here in their own district.
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