WASHINGTON — Showing a united front, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt led the full Alabama congressional delegation expressing concerns about major lock failures on vital waterways in Alabama including the Demopolis, Holt, and Wilson locks.

In a recent letter to Michael Connor, the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works; and Commanding General and Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. William Graham, the lawmakers drew attention to the impact of the failures on how the Army Corps of Engineers allocates Operations and Maintenance funding. 

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sets O&M budget guidance based on a five-year tonnage average for river systems,” the members wrote. “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 the Demopolis and Holt Locks will cause the Corps to underinvest critically needed O&M funds in these river systems.”

The lawmakers called for a solution to the critical issue affecting supply chains and businesses directly dependent on Alabama’s inland waterway system.

“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,” the wrote. “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.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Reps. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile), Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), Mike Rogers (R-Saks), Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), Dale Strong (R-Monrovia), Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), and Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) joined Britt (R-Montgomery) in sending the letter.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Britt secured almost $73 million in directed spending for the Army Corps of Engineers in the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Act.