447 



items can be shipped before drawdown and stored to meet use or market 

 demands during the period when shipping is shut down. 



The mill complex at Lewiston ships significant amounts of paper produas 

 downriver in containers. A drawdown would cause problems by disrupting the 

 just-in-time management of these shipments. Moving these containers by rail 

 or truck would probably be a viable, although more expensive, alternative. 



Xo the extent that drawdown makes it more difficult or expensive to move 

 wood chips out of the region, this could possibly give a slight advantage in the 

 chip market to the Lewiston mill as it competes with other mills served by 

 river transportation. 



h. Contoiners, fertilizer, petroleum, ond other products 



A number of other products that move both upstream and downstream on 

 the river might be disrupted by drawdown, although the quantities are small 

 compared to movements of grain and wood produCTs. The advent of just-in-time 

 inventory management and high seasonality in movement will magnify the 

 disruptions. In many instances, much of this disruption can probably be 

 accommodated by storage and prepositioning, although it is acknowledged 

 that such storage does not presently exist. 



The drawdown period would overlap the period for spring planting 

 and fertilizer application. Some liquid fertilizer is stored on-barge before 

 distribution, so drawdown might require significant increases in on-shore liquid 

 fertilizer storage. 



Some concern exists about whether such potentially toxic materials should 

 be allowed on a river which contains endangered species. Transporting such 

 items may be increasingly regulated irrespective of whether river drawdown 

 occurs. Any such reduction in up-river (backhaul) traffic would result in 

 increased unit costs for the remaining shipping. 



Impact on port-reloted regionol development 



The lower Snake River ports have anraaed some industrial developments 

 which made site decisions at least partly an access to barge transportation. 

 A 2-month shutdown could make it more difficutt to attract additional 

 development of this kind. Any substantially longer drawdown might cause 

 relocation and loss of many of these enterprises. 



