Flood Update & Force Majeure Event
June 1, 2019
Mississippi Lime Company’s Proud Tradition of Community Involvement
June 11, 2019
The near historic flooding in our area has created some unique issues for the community of Ste. Genevieve and for Mississippi Lime Company.
Mississippi Lime began barge loading at the Marina de Gabouri on June 6, due to high water at the company-owned barge facility. We thought it would be helpful to communicate information about our activities with regard to barge loading over the next few weeks, so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding.
- Mississippi Lime Company’s primary rail and barge loading facility was taken out of service when the flood gate was closed May 3.
- The Company’s alternate barge loading facility at New Bourbon Port was taken out of service May 31, due to flooding of the Big Field area.
- The Marina de Gabouri was determined to be a suitable secondary loading option based on location, access, and water levels and we began using this facility on June 6.
- We have worked with MoDNR (the Missouri Department of Natural Resources) to obtain a temporary permit for loading barges at the Marina de Gabouri site.
- We communicated this information to the presidents of Levee District #2 and #3, to ensure the plan to use that facility did not create any stress to the condition of the levee structures.
- Safety precautions, including staging a flag worker on Marina Drive, and installing additional signage, were done to notify those living in the area of this activity.
- It is MLC’s intent to load barges during daylight hours at this temporary location through mid-June.
- We will move back to our normal rail and barge loading procedures when the Mississippi River level subsides to a suitable level. We anticipate that to be 35 feet or below on the Chester gauge.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding during this difficult time. We will keep you informed, as things return to normal over the next few weeks.
