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Members Press Corps on Chickamauga, Soo Locks and Dredge Material Reuse Goals; Corps Reaffirms 2028 Chickamauga Target
Summary
Chairman and members asked Corps leadership about Chickamauga Lock's operational date, staffing and special pay for Soo Locks operators, and ambitions to reuse dredged material; Corps said Chickamauga should be operational in 2028 and reaffirmed a 70% beneficial reuse goal for dredge material by 2030.
Chairman Fleischmann and several members used the hearing to get project-specific updates. On Chickamauga Lock, the chairman said the project was about 85% complete and that $213 million he helped secure in FY26 was intended to finish construction. "We're tracking an operational date of 2028," a Corps witness said, and Lt. Gen. Butch Graham confirmed the commitment to deliver the project on that timeline.
Members from the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes raised concerns about staffing at Soo Locks, telling witnesses a special salary-rate request was submitted in September 2024 to retain operators who were leaving for higher-paying jobs. Assistant Secretary Tell said he would follow up on the status of that request and noted the FY26 and FY27 work plan funding levels for the Soo project.
On dredged-material management in the Great Lakes and Ohio harbors, members urged prioritizing plans to increase beneficial reuse. "Seventy percent beneficial reuse is our goal," Lt. Gen. Graham said, adding current reuse rates were "almost 40-some percent" and that districts were updating dredge material management plans.
Members also raised other project questions — from Matagorda Ship Channel validation to Yakima Valley canal emergency financing — and witnesses provided timelines, noted ongoing technical reviews and pledged to follow up with more granular answers and supporting materials.
