On January 2, 1996, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a notice in the Federal Register proposing to set the opening date for the Soo Locks at March 25. Under the current operating plan, the locks are scheduled to open on April 1, but industry can request an earlier opening if demand warrants.
To date, the proposal has been endorsed by Great Lakes carriers, their customers and port authorities. No environmental objections have been raised, so a fixed navigation season through the Soo Locks of March 25-January 15 should become regulation sometime this year.
A discussion of the length of the navigation season through the Locks has been a regular feature of LCA's ANNUAL REPORT for more than a decade. As this debate winds down, a final recap is appropriate.
Historically, the Soo Locks opened in early to mid-April and closed on December 15 or shortly thereafter. These opening and closing dates were weather-related, but not all because of navigation concerns. Until the late 1950s, most iron ore was mined and shipped in its natural state. This so-called "red ore" had a moisture content such that it readily froze, be it in the railcar on the way to the shipping dock or in the vessel's cargo hold. A mid-March-mid-February navigation season for the iron ore trade was unthinkable while red ore dominated the Lakes.
The demands of World War Two made significant inroads into iron ore reserves in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. The steel industry was seriously concerned that it could find itself without domestic or North American iron ore reserves. Steelmakers took a two-pronged approach to the problem. In the early 1940s, experiments resumed on mining and processing taconite, an iron-bearing mineral found in great supply in Minnesota and Michigan. Perfecting a taconite flowsheet took more than a decade, but in the mid-1950s, operations began at the first taconite processing plants in Minnesota.
In addition to the taconite research, the American steel industry also developed iron ore deposits in Eastern Canada in the 1950s and 1960s. These mines were a major factor in the United States' decision to support and participate in the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Taconite pellets are relatively low in moisture content, thus with their introduction and then dominance of the ore trade, the shipping season gradually evolved into April 1 until late December/early January. In the 1970s, industry and the Federal government participated in a demonstration program on the feasibility of year-round shipping through the Soo Locks. A 12-month season was actually achieved for 5 years.
Upon conclusion of the demonstration program in the late 1970s, year-round navigation was declared technically feasible, but given concerns about the impacts on the Great Lakes environment and the economics of mid-Winter navigation, it was decided that some consistently longer navigation season through the Soo Locks was more realistic than a 12-month season. For a number of years, the Soo Lock closing date was January 8 (plus or minus one week). The actual closing date was determined by both the needs of commerce and a formula involving freezing degree days. In 1989, the weather was so cold that the freezing degree day formula closed the Soo Locks on December 28.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued to study the environmental impacts of late-season sailing in the 1980s. At one point, the Corps recommended a closing date of January 31 (plus or minus two weeks). Great Lakes carriers declined a further extension of the shipping season. Sailing much beyond mid-January in the St. Marys River would require extensive additions to Coast Guard icebreaking resources and aids to navigation.
Industry instead sought a fixed closing date of January 15. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources objected to a fixed closing date, citing concerns about fish spawning and wetlands. A compromise was reached in 1993 whereby MDNR agreed not to oppose a January 15 closing date, provided additional environmental studies were undertaken and vessel speed was reduced in certain stretches of the St. Marys during periods of ice cover.
The Corps had also proposed a fixed opening date of March 21. Again, MDNR objected on environmental grounds. In this instance, industry gave ground and agreed with the Corps, Coast Guard, Fish & Wildlife Service and the State of Michigan to a March 25 opening date. Additional environmental monitoring studies were ordered to answer some final questions. LCA hopes the results of these studies will support the proposal to officially set the opening date at March 25.
The fixed navigation season at last seems reality. Environmental studies will continue for a few more years, but absent dramatic findings of adverse impacts, the Soo Locks will open on March 25 and close on January 15 every year.
The agreement on the fixed navigation season precludes opening earlier than the 25th or closing later than the 15th unless there's a national emergency. Great Lakes carriers have declined a 12-month shipping season through the Soo Locks. A fixed navigation season of March 25-January 15 meets the needs of commerce and protects the Great Lakes environment.