Subject: 21410/ChickLockReplacement/RequestToCongress
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 1997 14:22:26 -0500


                              RESOLUTION NO. 21410
                
                
                 A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE U. S. CONGRESS
                 APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE
                 CHICKAMAUGA LOCK.
                
                
                                                    
                
                
       	    	 WHEREAS, the integrity of Tennessee's infrastructure is
       dependent upon the continued support of the Federal Government 
and
       its funding mechanisms; and
       	    	 WHEREAS, the Chickamauga Lock, located just upstream
       from Chattanooga and a key part of the Tennessee River navigation 

       system; and
       	    	 WHEREAS, the Chickamauga Lock has become a major part of
       the economy of the entire Tennessee Valley, serving as a gateway
       for transporting all kinds of goods coming into and leaving the
       eastern part of the Tennessee Valley; and
       	    	 WHEREAS, in recent years, the Chickamauga Lock has
       developed serious structural problems, which have caused it to
       deteriorate at a rapid pace, and despite close monitoring by the
       Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Lock has now deteriorated 
to
       the point that repairs are ineffective; and
       	    	 WHEREAS, TVA's final Congressionally appropriated budget
       contains language prohibiting TVA from using 1997 funds for the
       new Lock and from moving forward with detailed engineering and
       construction activities this fiscal year; and
       	    	 WHEREAS, TVA estimates that, if left unchecked, the
       structural problems will cause the Lock to be closed to traffic 
by
       2005, forcing the abandonment of over 300 miles of navigable
       waterway above Chattanooga; and
0C
       	    	 WHEREAS, closing the Chickamauga Lock would also result
       in the loss of many jobs, an increase in the cost of alternative
       modes of transportation, a forfeiture of $25 million annually in
       transportation savings, and pose serious problems for water-
       dependent industries and burgeoning waterfront development
       projects; and
       	    	 WHEREAS, it is incumbent upon the members of this
       legislative body to ensure the continued welfare of its
       constituents;
                                 NOW THEREFORE,
       	    	 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
       CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, That the City Council be and hereby shows 

       support of the construction of a new Chickamauga Lock and 
requests
       the Congress of the United States to proceed expeditiously with
       engineering studies and to fund the replacement of the 
Chickamauga
       Lock on the Tennessee River; and
       	    	 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That certified copies of this
       Resolution be transmitted to the President and Secretary of the
       United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the House of
       Representatives of the United States, and to each member of the
       Tennessee Congressional Delegation.
      
       ADOPTED:	 June 10, 1997
      
       :cjc