Lawmakers in Mississippi River country are bombarding the White House with letters as they seek to protect their states' interests in the growing battles over the water levels of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Led by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a group of legislators from North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Montana wrote Friday to the president, Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy and FEMA Administrator William Craig Fugate to deny a request by industry associations for the release of water from the Missouri River into the Mississippi via the Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota.

But on the floor of the House, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Energy and Power Subcommittee, called on the Army Corps of Engineers to increase water flow, saying that a disruption in barge traffic on the Mississippi River should be avoided. "Industry from all sectors, including agriculture, energy and manufacturing, will suffer if we can't get the barges up and down the river. This will hurt our overall economy and ultimately lead to the loss of jobs," Whitfield said.

Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and 13 other lawmakers from river states wrote to the Army Corps last week requesting a delay in impounding the Missouri River's waters.

On Nov. 23, the Army Corps began a gradual cutback of water release from what was then 37,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) to about 12,000 cfs by mid-December. The Army Corps' actions are based on the Missouri River Master Water Control Manual, which mandates the amount of water released to maintain the balance of the river system.

Request for an emergency declaration

The unrelenting drought has taken the Mississippi River to historically low levels. Industry groups are worried that holding back the Missouri River's waters will exacerbate the situation and lead to closure of a key stretch of the Mississippi between St. Louis, Mo., and Cairo, Ill.

On Nov. 27, key industry members, including barge operators, grain growers and fuel manufacturers, wrote to President Obama asking for an emergency declaration to authorize the Army Corps to release water to keep the Mississippi River navigable. American Waterways Operators is predicting a loss of $7 billion in trade, 20,000 jobs and $130 million in wages if the river is closed for navigation in December and January.

After receiving the request, the president raised the issue with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a press briefing Thursday. "We also share the specific concerns from lawmakers and others about the decreasing water level of the Mississippi. And while there is a complex set of legal, technical and policy questions around these issues, we are exploring all possible options," Carney said.

"We're looking at those requests and trying to understand what we can do to keep the Mississippi navigable," said Jody Farhat, chief of the Army Corps' Missouri River water management office. While the action of releasing the Missouri's waters would have to be taken by the office, Farhat indicated that its hands are tied. "Congress authorizes and funds these projects and tells us what we are to do," she said. "The Missouri River reservoir process was not authorized to operate for anything other than for the Missouri River system."

Industry's request for an emergency declaration also asked that rock pinnacles near Thebes and Grand Tower, Ill., be removed. The Army Corps has scheduled the rock blasting operations for February 2013. Speaking to ClimateWire two weeks ago, Michael Petersen, chief of public affairs for the St. Louis District of the Army Corps, said that the time was necessary to put together a contract for the operation. He also said that rock blasting operations would disrupt trade and for this reason would be best carried out after the grain harvest.

But as the situation spirals, the Army Corps could jump on the fast track. "We are taking every action that we can to expedite the process," said Romanda Walker, public affairs specialist with the corps at St. Louis.