On September 6, 2012, Jo Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) sent several documents related to reduction of lock hours at US Army Corps of Engineers navigation projects to Senator Joe Manchin III, WV.

Her Enclosures 1 through 3 contain:
1. The Army Corps of Engineers' April 30, 2012, Implementation Memorandum for Inland Navigation Lock Levels of Service.

2. The Corps' March 2012 Inland Marine Transportation System Levels of Service Guide, which provided guidance to Corps districts on how to evaluate and establish the baseline level of service, including identifying criteria for six different levels of service.

3. The Corps' March 2012 Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) Handbook, which provided districts a uniform approach to establishing levels of operating service.

4. Monongahela River System IMTS analysis of lock operation data for 2011, including data on commercial and recreational lockages that were used to identify the proposed level of service. The Pittsburgh District can provide more detailed information on the source of these data for each lock on the Upper Monongahela River, if desired.

5. Two tables:

The first table summarizes the Pittsburgh District's river operation and maintenance funding for the past six years and the President's Fiscal Year 2013 Budget for the Civil Works program. Note that the operation and maintenance of the entire Monongahela River navigation system is shown in the President's-Budget-as-one-line-item.

The-second-table-summarizes-the-staffing-costs for the operation of Hildebrand, Morgantown, and Opekiska locks over the past seven years, including the proposed 2013 reduction and net savings.


Additional background may be found in the Guideline for Range of Lock Operation Data presented to the Inland Waterways Users Board by Richard C. Lockwood, Chief, Operations & Regulatory Division HQUSACE on 6 June 2012.
See http://www.waterwaysusers.us/Lockwood_2012%20IWUB%20LOS%20OVERVIEW%20-%206%20JUNE%202012%20-%20REV%201.pdf

Nationwide List of Locks Expected to be Affected



Actions to Reduce Service in Other Corps Projects

Corps of Engineers to host public meeting on proposal to reduce operating hours at Minneapolis locks in 2013
http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/pressroom/default.asp?pageid=2126

Ouachita/Black River System Level of Service Reduction Message
http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/docs/2012/InfoPaperORLPublicMeetings.pdf

Ouachita River Association's Response
http://www.orva.org/orvaresponse.pdf

Corps to reduce services at Allegheny River locks
http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/pao/nr11/NR11-045State%20ofAllegheny.pdf

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