ORVA NEWS

1 1 ORVA NEWS Ouachita River Valley Association Dedicated to Quality of Life in the Ouachita Valley SPRING 2018 MISSION: ORVA is non-profit organization engaged in the development of projects that have been proven to be economically and environmentally justified that enhance the welfare of the people in the Ouachita River Basin in Arkansas and Louisiana. OFFICERS: President: Randy Denmon Vice President: John Stringer Secretary/Treasurer: David Richardson Board of Directors: Louisiana Kevin Crosby Johnny Martin Randy Martin-Nez Roger Dobbs Jay McDaniel Lee Denny Monty Adams, Jr. Arkansas Judge Robbie McAdoo Corbet Lamkin Mayor Scott McCormick Jennifer King Judge Mike Loftin Tom Burger Bill Burrough Committee Chairman: Navigation: Jay McDaniel Finance: Johnny Martin/Jay McDaniel Nominating Committee: Judge Mike Loftin/Johnny Martin Executive Director: Rayford Wilbanks, 601-636-2207 2018 OUACHITA-BLACK RIVERS NAVIGATION PROJECT, AR & LA ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) completed the Ouachita River Valley Association s (ORVA) proposed and North Louisiana Economic Partnership sponsored study in December 2017.

2 The study was undertaken to determine the economic impact on Arkansas and Louisiana of the Ouachita River. The report focused on the navigable portion of the Ouachita-Black River from Camden Arkansas to the juncture with the Red River on the northern border of Avoyelles Parish. The Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project has been recognized as the primary generator of economic and environmental activity in the Ouachita River Basin since its construction in the 1970 s and 1980 s. The Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project covers a distance of some 337 miles from below Camden, AR, to the confluence with the Red River below Jonesville, LA. Four locks and dams, Thatcher, Felsenthal, Columbia, and Jonesville, provide a 9-foot deep, 100-foot wide, and a minimum radius of 1,000 feet in channel bends for a year-round channel to the lower Red River and the Atchafalaya River to the Gulf of Mexico.

3 The study revealed commercial use of the Ouachita River generates nearly $ Billion annually and is linked to nearly 21,000 full-time jobs in Louisiana and Arkansas. Commercial activities have returned $ Billion to household incomes throughout the region. The primary categories examined in the study of Ouachita River impacts were commercial navigation, industrial water use, municipal water use, agriculture, recreation and waste water treatment. Study information on population, personal income, and employment for the area was indicative of an economically depressed area. Further, the authors stated, Actions that would increase costs to area firms or municipalities or would reduce outside tourism should only be undertaken in the direst of circumstances.

4 Reducing or eliminating support for the River would be potentially akin to kicking a man while he is down. 1 1 ORVA NEWS Ouachita River Valley Association Dedicated to Quality of Life in the Ouachita Valley FALL 2016 MISSION: ORVA is non-profit organizations engaged in the development of projects that have been proven to be economically and environmentally justified that enhance the welfare of the people in the Ouachita River Basin in Arkansas and Louisiana. OFFICERS: President: Randy Denmon Vice President: John Stringer Secretary/Treasurer: David Richardson Board of Directors: Louisiana Harris Brown Johnny Martin Randy Martin-Nez Roger Dobbs John Hoopaugh Vacant Monty Adams, Jr.

5 Arkansas Judge Robbie McAdoo Steve Word Mayor Scott McCormick Jennifer King Judge Mike Loftin Tom Burger Bill Burrough Committee Chairman: Navigation: John Hoopaugh Finance: Johnny Martin/John Hoopaugh Nominating Committee: Judge Mike Loftin/Johnny Martin Executive Director: Rayford Wilbanks, 601-636-2207 ORVA INITIATES ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY OF OUACHITA-BLACK RIVERS NAVIGATION PROJECT AR & LA ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY - ORVA has obtained the services of the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) to conduct a study of the economic and environmental value of the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project, AR & LA. The project has been recognized as the primary generator of economic and environmental activity in the Ouachita River Basin since its construction in the 1970 s and 1980 s, however there is a lack of current quantification of the real overall impacts.

6 ORVA officials held its first meeting with Dr. Nick Bruno, President, ULM in July 2016 to begin discussions of the need for and ULM s capability to conduct such a study. Dr. Bruno was very receptive to taking the lead on the study which will be done under his supervision and by Dr. Robert Eisenstadt, Professor of Economics at ULM. The study is expected to take about 12 months at a cost of $30,000. We believe the information obtained will be very useful in helping the project compete for Federal funds as it produces transportation savings, recreation, water supply, fish and wildlife, ecosystem restoration, flood control and other benefits in the Basin. LEVEL OF SERVICE - The Vicksburg District, U.

7 S Army Corps of Engineers began operating the Jonesville and Columbia locks on a 24/7/365 basis on November 15, 2015 after being operated at 2 shifts per day (19-20 hrs. daily) since July 2012. They began operating the upper two locks in AR (Felsenthal and H. K. Thatcher) 5 days per week (10 hrs. daily) on Monday-Friday with no weekend service on the same date. This action resulted from the Corps review of project usage based on criteria contained in the Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) study which provides guidelines for the level of service to be provided by navigation projects. The Ouachita River Valley Association (ORVA) has pressed for restoration of full time service at all four locks since service was reduced to two shifts daily nearly years ago.

8 Special emphasis 22 2017/2018 Dredging - The Ouachita-Black Navigation project is open from the juncture of the Black River with the Red River to the Head of Navigation in Camden Arkansas. The additional $2,000,000 that was added per remaining items (Funding Pots) for Operation and Maintenance of the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project, Red River to Camden, AR, to the FY 17 President s Budget of $8,445,000 along with available funding provided the most dredging and clearing and snagging operations on the waterway that has occurred in several years. Also, the FY 18 President s Budget of $10,548,000 for the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project included the $ Million additional dredging amount that was not included in the FY 17 Budget.

9 Although the project needs to be funded at $ Million annually for efficient operation and maintenance of all four locks 24/7/365 and required dredging, w ith the current upper two locks operating only 10 hours daily 5 days a week, the FY 18 project budget is adequate. This annual maintenance dredging and snagging is vital to the current industries that utilize the waterway to transport their products. Also, this dredging supports local industrial development agencies as they recruit water-based industry to the area. This type of commitment on a continuous annual basis is what the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project needs for increase commercial navigation to occur. With the return of commercial traffic on the upper portion of the waterway, the future utilization of the navigation project is moving in a positive direction.

10 ORVA believes with improvements in the economy and the continued need for efficient transportation the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project will be a vital component of the region s future economic growth and will continue to improve the quality of life in the Ouachita Valley. 2019 Dredging The FY 19 President s Budget of only $7,979,000 was a disappointment. ORVA is working with our Congressional Delegation to request additional funding in appropriations for Operation and Maintenance for Inland Navigation Projects. Our hope is that some of these funds would be designated to the Ouachita-Black Rivers Project. These funds are more vital than ever now that commercial traffic is returning to the upper portion of the waterway.