MS SC534

Urges Congress to authorize a comprehensive reliability report on Marine Highway 65 (M-65) in the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, to be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Marine Highway 65 includes the Tennessee River, Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Tombigbee River, Black Warrior River, and Mobile River system, with approximately 234 miles traversing Mississippi

The waterway supports six Mississippi ports (Yellow Creek, Itawamba, Amory, Aberdeen, Clay County, and Lowndes County) and transports steel, coal, petroleum products, forest products, aggregates, agricultural commodities, and manufactured goods

Recent infrastructure concerns including lock failures and operational disruptions at Demopolis Lock, Holt Lock, and Wilson Lock have demonstrated vulnerability of aging navigation infrastructure

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority, a four-state compact (Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee) ratified by Congress, formally requested this reliability report and serves as the nonfederal sponsor for M-65