Jeff Hall News

According to an Oct. 23 report from Reuters, the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a large brown slick floating near the mouth of the Mississippi River and said it could be weathered oil from the BP spill or just algae bloom. A Coast Guard vessel went out to the orange-brown substance, which stands around 2-3 miles (3-5 km) offshore at Tiger Pass, northwest of Venice, Louisiana, according to spokesman Jeff Hall. (Source: Reuters)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will close additional locks on the upper Mississippi River north of St. Louis beginning on Monday (April 23) due to rising water levels, Army Corps officials said. Lock 22 near Hannibal, Mo., about 150 miles north of St. Louis, was scheduled to close on Monday afternoon and Lock 21 near Quincy, Ill., will close on Tuesday. The Army Corps had closed Lock 20 at Canton, Mo., over the weekend but was keeping Lock 19 near Keokuk, Ia., open for local traffic. So all locks from Canton north to Minnespolis, except Keokuk, were now closed to traffic due to high water. The latest lock closures are north of the confluence of the Illinois River, where barge traffic remains unaffected by the flood conditions on the upper Mississippi.