Southeast Missouri Port Authority could take legal action over Corps of Engineers' refusal to dredge

The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority could take legal action if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to refuse to dredge its harbor this summer.

The St. Louis District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not receive funding for the dredging of the port's harbor this year, estimated to cost $360,000.

Dan Overbey, SEMO Port executive director, said he would prefer to work with the Corps and not go to court to get the harbor dredged.

When the port, located in Scott County, was constructed in the mid-1980s, the Port Authority entered into an agreement that the Corps would dredge the harbor each year for 35 years into the future.

"This could be a real train wreck if things don't fall into place," Overbey said.

The Mississippi River levels typically rise this time of year leading to ideal shipping conditions at the port, but during a hot, dry summer the water levels will fall, Overbey said.

Dredging, which removes the silt that settles into the harbor over time, is necessary each summer to maintain proper water levels for barge traffic, Overbey said.

If the harbor isn't dredged by September, the port may have to close temporarily.

"There's been a time or two when businesses have quit [shipping] for a couple weeks, but we knew the dredge was coming, so they could plan around it," Overbey said.

Elected officials are urging the Corps to find funds elsewhere in its budget for summer dredging at SEMO Port.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., recently sent a letter to the Corps urging them to make this project a "top priority."

"I have serious concerns about the process used to determine project funding, especially in light of the importance of this harbor to the agriculture economy of the state and region," McCaskill wrote. "Area producers use this harbor to ship nearly one million tons of corn, rice, fertilizer and other items each year."

In the past, SEMO Port would receive line-item funding in the Corps budget for dredging costs each year, Overbey said.

Then a rule was made that the Corps would dredge for ports that shipped out more than $1 million tons each year, so SEMO Port was automatically included and did not require a line item, Overbey said.

Since the opening of SEMO Milling at the port in 2008, the tonnage shipped out dropped to about 850,000 tons per year, leaving SEMO Port below the 1 million ton cut off.

Overbey said the milling operation is beneficial because it creates local jobs, but corn that was once shipped through the port is now processed at the SEMO Milling facility.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., and Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., also are working with the Corps to make sure the SEMO Port is dredged this year.

"They're working with the St. Louis district to see if the Corps can scrounge up the $360,000 to dredge," Overbey said.

Businesses that use the harbor at the SEMO Port to load barges include Midwest Grain & Barge, Midwest Agri-Chemico, Girardeau Stevedores, Doe Run Resources Corp. and SEMO Milling.

Dredging the harbor, which measures 18,000 feet, usually takes three to five days, Overbey said.

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