Letter by Alabama politicians pose concerns over waterway lock failures

A letter sent by several Alabama politicians to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has posed concerns over waterway lock failures that have occurred in Demopolis, Holt and Wilson. 

The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Katie Britt and co-signed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Representatives Jerry Carl, Barry Moore, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Dale Strong, Gary Palmer, and Terri Sewell.

The failures have reportedly impacted businesses that are dependent on inland waterway systems, the letter states. 

It was noted that the Demopolis lock failed when a piece of concrete collapsed from the upstream gate sill. It was eventually repaired and reopened but failures were recorded in other locks, causing limitations in their operations. 

"The impact is self-evident," the letter says. 

The letter further states that there is an "urgent need" for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funding to address the issues. However, it also states that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sets the O&M budget that is based on a five-year tonnage average for river systems. 

"We are deeply concerned that the significantly reduced annual tonnage on the Tennessee-Tombigbee and Black Warrior River Systems in calendar year 2024 due to the closures of Demopolis and Holt Locks will cause the Corps to underinvest critically needed O&M funds in these river systems," the letter says.

“As such, we urge the Corps to adjust the budget guidance for the Tennessee-Tombigbee and Black Warrior River systems by excluding the tonnage data from the calendar year 2024. These vital waterways and their associated industries should not face further hardship, beyond the impacts already resulting from the outages, by an inadequate O&M budget allocations in future fiscal years.”