CORPS TO FINE USE-FEE VIOLATORS

WAPPAPELLO -- After a two-year grace period, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be writing "tickets for real" for violators of a 1993 regulation requiring a use fee pass for certain outdoor activities at Wappapello Lake.

The Corps use fees were a part of President Bill Clinton's 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Many boat-launching and swimming areas on Corps properties were required to charge use fees.

The Corps' St. Louis District assessed fees at all of its lakes and properties, which include thousands of acres in five lake areas in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Missouri areas are Lake Wappapello in parts of Wayne and Butler counties and Mark Twain Lake in Monroe and Ralls counties.

Illinois areas are Rend Lake, North of Benton, Ill.; Carlyle Lake near Vandalia, Ill.; and Lake Shelbyville at Shelbyville, Ill.

Clearwater Lake, which is in the Corps' Little Rock District, started collecting use fees in 1994 for three of its ramps and beaches -- Piedmont Park, Bluff Park, and Webb Creek.

Over the past two years, warnings have been issued at Wappapello, with citations going only for second offenses.

"This year, violators will receive citations with $25 fines," said Andrew Jefferson, park ranger of the Corps customer service program., visitor assistance and interpretations at Wappapello.

"The grace period is over," added Jefferson. "After more than two years, visitors should be well aware of the fees by now." The Corps started writing citations at Wappapello last weekend.

Fees are the same as last year -- $2 for launching boats at Redman Creek and Peoples Creek, and $1 per person (up to $3 per vehicles) for swimming at Rockwood point, Redman Creek and Peoples Creek."

There is no charge for children under 12 or for campers registered in Corps-operated campgrounds, said Jefferson.

Visitors interested in purchasing an annual pass may do so at the Lake Wappapello Visitor Center seven days a week. The cost of the annual pass is $25, and is available at all Corps facilities.

Most people have accepted the fact that fees are necessary, although some have criticized the move, Jefferson said.

"The Corps budget was cut two years ago and the use-fee funds go toward maintenance of the areas," he said.

He explained that only five areas -- two boat-launching and three swimming areas -- in the Lake Wappapello area are subject to use fees. Signs are posted in the areas which fall under use-fee regulations.

The revenues collected from recreation use fees help offset a 15 percent cut nationwide in the Corps 1994 budget.

"There is a very high standard that the public has expected on services as far as how often we mow the grass, pick up the trash and clean the facilities," Jefferson said. "In the past, we cut back on services and people complained that things aren't clean enough."

More than two million people visit the Lake Wappapello area each year.