[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 183 (Monday, September 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 56575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22415]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Proposed Reduction in Hours of Operation at Lower St. Anthony 
Falls Lock and Lock and Dam 1, Located in Minneapolis, MN

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The three Mississippi River locks in Minneapolis, MN (Upper 
St. Anthony Falls, Lower St. Anthony Falls, and Lock and Dam 1) 
currently operate 19 hours per day/7 days per week during the 
navigation season. This level of service follows the guidance from the 
Corps Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) Board of Directors.
    Section 2010 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 
2014 (WRRDA) directed the Secretary of the Army to close the Upper St. 
Anthony Falls Lock and Dam located on the Mississippi River at river 
mile 853.9 no later than 1 year after the enactment date of WRRDA 2014.
    With the expected closing of the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock, it 
is anticipated the remaining two Minneapolis locks will have less than 
500 commercial lockages per year. To meet IMTS guidance, it is proposed 
Lower St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1 transition to one 10-hour 
shift per day/7 days per week during the 2015 navigation season and 
beyond. The navigation season on the Upper Mississippi normally begins 
in March, depending on river conditions, and wraps up by the end of 
November. Pool levels will not be affected by change of operating 
hours.

DATES: Submit written comments concerning this notice by October 22, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to Mr. Kevin Baumgard, Deputy Chief, 
Operations Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 180 Fifth Street 
East, Suite 700, St. Paul, MN 55101-1678, or by email at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Kidby at Corps of 
Engineers Headquarters in Washington, DC, by phone at 202-761-0250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The legal authority for the regulation 
governing the use, administration, and navigation of the Twin Cities 
locks is Section 4 of the River and Harbor Act of August 18, 1894 (28 
Stat. 362), as amended, which is codified at 33 U.S.C. 1. This statute 
requires the Secretary of the Army to ``prescribe such regulations for 
the use, administration, and navigation of the navigable waters of the 
United States'' as the Secretary determines may be required by public 
necessity. Reference 33 CFR 207.300, Ohio River, Mississippi River 
above Cairo, Ill., and their tributaries; use, administration, and 
navigation.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-22415 Filed 9-19-14; 8:45 am]
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