Upper Mississippi River: Disposition

Introduction

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts disposition studies to determine whether projects that they operate and maintain should be deauthorized and ultimately disposed of when said projects no longer serves their congressionally authorized purpose. The Corps is in the midst of conducting disposition studies from coast to coast. This process includes gauging public opinion through hearings and public comments.

Our project focuses on the Corps' ongoing study of the Upper Mississippi, which includes the three upper most locks and dams on the river (Upper St. Anthony Falls, Lower St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1). Beyond the Mississippi, we are examining the outcomes of disposition studies on other U.S. rivers.

We are also imagining a future river through public opinion surveying and public arts projects. The later work extends the notion of disposition beyond its legal framing toward alternative uses of the term that reflect how we arrange and give character and meaning to the Mississippi. While the Corps eliminated dam removal as a potential outcome of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Disposition Study, our project includes a deeper look at how razing infrastructure might change how we know, use and respect the river's life force.

There are three locks and dams located in Minneapolis/St. Paul on the Upper Mississippi that the Army Corps is currently investigating: the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock and dam, the Lower St. Anthony Falls lock and dam, and Lock and Dam 1, or the Ford Lock and Dam. The construction of the Upper St. Anthony lock was made possible by the Upper Minneapolis Harbor Development Project, which Congress passed in 1937. The lock was then built in 1963 for the purpose of navigation; the lock was closed in 2014 to "quell the possible spread of invasive carp species." Additionally, a cutoff wall built after the St. Anthony Falls collapsed in 1869 to preserve the falls. However, if this wall were to ever fail, it would be detrimental to water health in the Twin Cities, as upstream erosion would continue and the reservoir that supplies water to Twin Cities residents would transform into shallow rapids.

Our analysis of the Army Corps of Engineers’ disposition studies on the Mississippi River is part of a broader project which seeks to understand how the Corps conducts studies and how they engage diverse publics to inform their recommendations. Smaller case studies, such as the Willamette Falls case study, as well as the Kentucky Green and Barren Rivers studies, will help guide our research on the Corps’ current disposition study of locks and dams on the Mississippi River, the largest disposition study the Corps has undertaken thus far.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) was directed by Congress to conduct a combined disposition study on the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam (USAF), Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, 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 interest for the ACE to continue operating and owning locks and dams after they no longer serve their original authorized purpose.

In October 2018 Congress passed America's Water Infrastructure Act which directed the ACE to prioritize their study the USAF Lock and Dam. The ACE began this process in August 2019.

Add something about WRDA 2020 and the need to consider dam removal

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, in August 2019 the ACE held two public hearings: one in Minneapolis and another in St. Paul. Representatives from the ACE responded to questions from the public and took comments. The ACE also had two periods in 2019 and 2021 for the public to submit written comments directly. We have read and coded the comments the ACE posted, transcribed both public meetings, and analyzed common themes, concerns, and questions from the public, as well as common responses from the ACE.

Common Concerns for the Public

Many individuals commented on dam removal in the 2019 and 2021 public comments periods, despite that option being eliminated early on from the scope of the ACE's study. Three people were interested in the removal of the USAF Lock during the 2019 comments. In one of the 2019 public hearings, 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 infrastructure of the lock damages the river's appearance. A 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." Concern about the lock and dam removal's impact on water quality, wildlife, river flow, and water levels was common. The ACE responded to these comments and questions by advising the public to contact Congress and urge them to change the scope of the study.

Below are two images of the river before infrastructure.

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" (169). Robert Lilligren, President and CEO of the Native American Community 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" (143-145). One public hearing commenter also stated that "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."

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" (13). Even Mayor Jacob Frey says that “[the ACE 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 ACE Addresses Comments and Questions

Often the Army Corps 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 ACE would respond that it sounded more like a comment than a question. Many people asked the same questions several times because they were not being answered; the ACE 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 specialists.

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.

What to Expect from the 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 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 focus on the LSAF and Lock and Dam 1 disposition study.