Corps of Engineers invites public aboard the largest diesel towboat on the Mississippi River

The MV Mississippi, the largest diesel towboat operating
on the Mississippi River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District offers the public two opportunities to tour the largest diesel towboat operating on the Mississippi River. Tours are offered to the public at no cost.
Public open houses aboard the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI will take place:

• Friday, Aug. 14 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. along the riverfront in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
• Saturday, Aug. 15 from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. along the riverfront in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The M/V Mississippi, which will host the Mississippi River Commission’s annual low-water inspection trip and associated public hearing Aug. 14 at City Riverfront in Cape Girardeau, Mo., is 241-feet long and 58-feet wide. The 6,300 horsepower vessel serves as a working towboat 90 percent of the time.

Also a passenger boat, the vessel houses 22 staterooms, a dining room that seats 85 and a conference room that seats 115 people. The MRC flagship can accommodate 150 passengers.

The vessel’s primary mission is to move barges in support of bank stabilization work on the lower Mississippi River. Each spring and late summer, the MRC conducts a series of public meetings aboard the vessel.

The MRC, established in 1879, uses the M/V Mississippi to host public hearings, a process unique to the Mississippi River Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, that allow the public a greater voice in shaping federal policy by discussing their concerns with those individuals responsible for improving the condition of the river, fostering navigation, promoting commerce, and reducing flood risk along the watershed.

For additional information about the M/V Mississippi or the Mississippi River Commission, visit the Mississippi Valley Division’s website: http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil. For more information on the public hearings, visit the 2015 St. Louis District MRC page.

Thousands tour MV MISSISSIPPI

The Motor Vessel Mississippi is the largest diesel towboat on the Mississipi River. It serves as a work boat, command center during emergency operations, and town hall during inspection trips.

by Mary Markos, St. Louis District Public Affairs

Photos by Tory Rae Thompson

More than 3,000 adults and children toured or visited the largest towboat in the United States August 10-18 when the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI made stop in the St. Louis District Corps of Engineers area.

The MV MISSISSIPPI, the flagship of the Mississippi River Commission, hosted three open houses as it worked its way upstream to Alton, Ill., then back downstream to Chester, Ill.  Currently hosting MRC Public Hearings, the vessel will continue making stops on its way to Houma, La.

Sponsored by the St. Louis District, the open houses and special events offered Corps’ partners and the public the opportunity to board and explore the vessel that operates as a working towboat 90 percent of the time. It has also served as a floating command center during emergency operations, including the Corps’ response to Hurricane Katrina and the Flood of 2011.

The fifth vessel to bear its name, the MISSISSIPPI is 241-feet long and 58 feet wide with 6,300 horsepower. It has 22 staterooms and can accommodate 150 passengers.

Most of the year it works on the Corps’ revetment process, helping stabilize the banks of the river. When not serving as a work boat, it serves as an ambassador for the Corps and the MRC during the Commission’s inspections trips. These trips typically take place twice a year, in high- and low-water.

The inspection trips allow the MRC, a presidentially appointed body charged with the oversight of the Mississippi River basin, a chance to view problem areas in the river and hear comments and concerns from the public.

“The public hearings held during the inspection trips are unique to the MRC,” said Col. Chris Hall, St. Louis District Commander. “They allow the public an opportunity to speak with the policy makers and influencers directly and, through the Commission, share their concerns with their representatives in Congress.”

For more information on the Mississippi River Commission, go to http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/mrc/. 

Jose Lopez, a member of the St. Louis District's Leadership

Development Program, shows visitors to the MV Mississippi a levee

model during an open house event in Chester. 

Change of Command for Mississippi Valley Division

VICKSBURG, Miss., November 3, 2011 – In a formal change of command ceremony, Major General Michael J. Walsh will transfer command of the Mississippi Valley Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to Major General John W. Peabody, Thursday, November 10.  The ceremony will be officiated by the Corps' Acting Chief of Engineers, Major General Merdith “Bo” Temple, and will take place at 10:00 a.m. in the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Maj. Gen. Walsh, MVD Commander and President of the Mississippi River Commission since February 2008, has been assigned as the Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. 

Maj. Gen. Peabody comes to Vicksburg from Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was Commander and Division Engineer of the Corps’ Great Lakes and Ohio River Division. Previous commands include the 618th Engineer Company (Light Equipment) (Airborne), 82nd Airborne Division; the 299th Engineer Battalion, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, the Engineer Brigade for the 3rd Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom I, and the Pacific Ocean Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  

As MVD Commander, General Peabody will be responsible for the Corps water resources programs in a 370,000-square-mile area that includes portions of 12 states; its boundary extends from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.  District offices are headquartered in St. Paul, Rock Island, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans.

 

In addition, General Peabody will be president-designee of the Mississippi River Commission, the presidentially appointed agency that oversees the comprehensive Mississippi River and Tributaries flood control and navigation project, as well as the entire Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Mississippi River Commission schedules low-water inspection trip

Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI

The Mississippi River Commission will conduct its annual low-water inspection trip on the Mississippi River August 15-19, 2011.

Four public meetings have been scheduled aboard the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI in selected towns along the river so commission members have the opportunity to meet with local residents and hear their concerns, ideas and issues. The meeting places, dates and times are as follows:

• August 15 9:00 a.m. New Madrid, Mo., at the City Front
• August 16 9:00 a.m. Memphis, Tenn., at the Mud Island Park
• August 17 9:00 a.m. Lake Providence, La., at the Lake Providence Port
• August 19 9:00 a.m. Morgan City, La., at the Port Commission Dock

All meetings are open to the public. Local interests are invited to present their views and suggestions on matters affecting the water resources infrastructure needs in the valley, including flood control and the Mississippi River and Tributaries project, environmental issues, recreation and navigation.

The agenda for each public meeting will be as follows:

1. Summary report by President of the Commission on national and regional issues affecting the programs and projects on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

2. District Commander's overview for the Commission on current project issues in the respective District area.

3. Presentations to the Commission by local organizations and members of the public giving views or comments on any issue affecting the programs or projects of the Commission and the Corps of Engineers.

The MRC, established in 1879, is composed of seven members, each nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. Three of the organization's members are officers of the Corps of Engineers; one member is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and three members are civilians, two of whom are civil engineers.

General duties of the commission include recommendation of policy and work programs, the study of and reporting upon the necessity for modifications or additions to the flood control and navigation project, recommendation upon any matters authorized by law, and making semi-annual inspection trips. The duties of the commission include the entire length of the Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minn., to Head of Passes, La., where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

The purpose of the public meetings is to maintain a dialogue, an exchange of viewpoints and ideas flowing between the public and the Corps. Presentations by the public are made orally, but a copy of the remarks should be presented to the commission for the official record.

The public hearing process is unique to the Mississippi River Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The benefits of hearing first hand the issues and concerns through the public hearing process are invaluable to the commission and the Corps. Also, the interaction with congressional, federal and state interests, local boards and non-government organizations and the public is crucial to the decision-making process of the commission.

Since 1879, the seven-member Presidentially appointed Mississippi River Commission has developed and matured plans for the general improvement of the Mississippi River from the Head of Passes to the Headwaters. The Mississippi River Commission brings critical engineering representation to the drainage basin, which impacts 41% of the United States and includes 1.25 million square miles, over 250 tributaries, 31 states, and 2 Canadian provinces.

Listening, Inspecting, Partnering and Engineering since 1879.

www.mvd.usace.army.mil/mrc