Tow boat pushing a barge on the Minnesota River, Minnesota.
Location/Description
The St. Paul District is responsible for maintaining the 9-foot navigation channel on the Minnesota River from its mouth in St. Paul, Minnesota, to river mile 14.7 in Savage, Minnesota, and the 4-foot channel depth from river miles 14.7 to 25.6 in Shakopee, Minnesota. Annual channel maintenance actions are required to maintain the congressionally authorized 9-foot channel depth. These channel maintenance activities consist of dredging, snag removal, and close monitoring of channel conditions.
The St. Paul District dredges approximately 23,000 cubic yards of material per year from seven distinct locations on the Minnesota River, with 54,000 cubic yards dredging in 2024. Both government and contract hydraulic and mechanical dredges are used. Dredged material is actively managed to maximize beneficial use of the material and to minimize adverse environmental impacts within the riverine environment.
Status
Annual operation and maintenance actions are required to ensure safe and reliable navigation. Coordination with operational agreements have been developed with state regulatory agencies to facilitate channel maintenance. The Lower Minnesota River Watershed District is the nonfederal sponsor for the project and is responsible for acquiring and maintaining dredged material placement sites.
The Minnesota River 9-foot channel navigation project is the main navigation effort for the Upper Mississippi River navigation project. Several of the nation's largest agribusiness corporations (Cargill, Cenex and Bunge) operate terminals on the Minnesota River and depend upon a reliable navigation system for movement of commodities. The Minnesota River transports approximately one-fourth of the 16 million tons annually shipped in and out of Minnesota with an annual economic value of more than $362 million. Commodities transported on the Minnesota River include corn, soybeans, wheat, limestone, salt and fertilizer.
As part of the Dredged Material Management Plan, a placement site was constructed on land acquired from Cargill in 2010. This plan provides for long-term management of dredged material generated from the Minnesota River for both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and private industry.
Authority
In 1892, the River and Harbor Act authorized the maintenance of a 4-foot navigation channel from the mouth of the Minnesota River to river mile 25.6. The River and Harbor Act of 1958 authorized the existing 9-foot navigation channel.
Fiscal
Operation and maintenance of the project is funded under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Operation and Maintenance appropriation through the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The average annual funding for the maintenance of the navigation channel on the Minnesota River for fiscal years 2021 through 2025 was $295,400. The fiscal year 2025 work plan included an additional $1,800,000 for the Minnesota River. This amount was not used to calculate the average annual funding. The president’s 2026 budget includes $355,000.