Mississippi River leaders urge next president to keep global trade open

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, leaders of Mississippi River communities called on the next federal administration to protect agricultural trade and offer new solutions to the impacts of climate change.

Mayors leading the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative shared their priorities during a press conference Wednesday at the group’s annual meeting this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“We want to send a message to the next president of the United States of America, whoever that president may be, and guide them on the work that is vital for the next administration to address,” La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds, who co-chairs the initiative, told reporters.

One of the priorities laid out by the river mayors is remaining in the Paris climate accord, a global agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. 

After former President Donald Trump removed the U.S. from the agreement in 2017, President Joe Biden rejoined the treaty on his first day in office. Trump has indicated he would once again leave the agreement if he is reelected in November.

Bob Gallagher, mayor of Bettendorf, Iowa, told reporters remaining in the treaty will allow Mississippi River communities to be more competitive in the export market. He said leaving the agreement could lead other countries to place tariffs on farm and manfuctured goods or commodities.

“Some of our farmers and commodity groups have spent the last 30 plus years building markets overseas,” Gallagher said. “We can’t afford to make any policy decisions that will jeopardize the $164 billion in agricultural commodities the Mississippi River makes possible every single year.”

Local leaders also voiced their support for a new effort to federally recognize ports along the upper Mississippi River. The group announced a new cooperative agreement between Corn Belt Ports, a group of ports in Illinois and Iowa that have received federal recognition in the last five years, and several Louisiana ports.

Robert Sinkler, a former commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who now leads the Corn Belt Ports group, said there were no federally recognized ports north of St. Louis prior to 2019. He said pursuing the distinction for some regions has opened the door to roughly $2 billion in infrastructure investments.

“We see that investment increasing (under the cooperative agreement),” Sinkler said. “Just being on the map from one end of the river to the other, and being viewed as one unified port region from New Orleans to Minneapolis.”

Mayors call for more coordination among river towns, new federal approach to drought

The group of mayors also called for the next administration to open the way for creating a federal program for the Mississippi River, similar to initiatives for the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay managed through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A unified program would allow for infrastructure investments at a multi-state scale, according to the local leaders, and lead to better coordination of environmental efforts.

The initiative also called on the next U.S. president to establish national policy to better address the impact of more frequent droughts due to climate change.

Widespread drought conditions that lasted for 16 months between 2022 and 2023 cost an estimated $26 million in economic impacts, according to the group. While frequent rains this spring ended the drought conditions, water levels have again declined along the river this summer.

Belinda Constant, mayor of Gretna, Louisiana, said despite the high costs to economies and public health, federal disaster declarations can’t be issued for intense heat and drought.

“We’re not authorized to spend FEMA funds on drought or intense heat mitigation, regardless of the last three summers being some of the hottest on record in the Mississippi River valley,” she said.

She also called for incentives for farmers and manufacturers who reduce their water intake or recycle water during periods of drought. 

At their last annual meeting, the mayors began plans to develop a Mississippi River Compact that advocates say would provide better management of the river’s water resources. The resolution came in response to southwestern states like Arizona looking to pump flood waters from the Mississippi River to dry regions.

The group is scheduled to continue work on an interstate compact at their annual meeting this week.