Madison Port Facility, Tallulah, Louisiana

Record-high waters begin to recede

The Mississippi River at Greenville, Mississippi has crested and is showing a slow fall. We are hopeful we can be back in business at our Greenville operation by the first of June. Yesterday we saw a crest at Lake Providence and are expecting a very slow fall over the next few days. At the Madison Port in Tallulah, Louisiana we should see a crest in the river today. The Arkansas River is still closed, but we are confident our barges staged at Rosedale for Pine Bluff can be unloaded next week.

An article appearing in the Monroe, Louisiana newspaper (AP) stated that Lake Providence, Louisiana is the only port facility open between Helena, Arkansas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana on the Mississippi river. This did not happen by luck. We worked hard with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Levee Board to maintain access to our facilities, and we built the necessary levees around our fertilizer house to stay operational. We are direct-transferring Urea from barges across our port dock to truck in order to keep this product moving into our markets. At the Madison Parish Port we have seen water over the dock and across our property, preventing any access to our location other than by boat. Three feet of water has risen against the sandbagged levee around our offices. Our boat operations have been hindered, but not shut down, due to the closure of the Old River Lock. We are optimistic the lock will open at the end of the month. Barge traffic is moving again out of the gulf with the opening of the Natchez, Mississippi portion of the Mississippi River.

All in all, we feel lucky and blessed to have coped like we have with the highest river in history. I am amazed at how people work together for the common good in disaster situations, like they are doing in this high river event. This is a tribute to our country and to the people who live within its borders. I give a special thanks to our customers and those we serve for being patient and working with us through this hard time. We will persevere in hopes of getting this behind us soon.

Thomas M. Gattle, Jr.

President & CEO
Terral RiverService, Inc.
Phone: 318-559-1500
Fax: 318-559-1524

Lake Providence Facility, Lake Providence, Louisiana

Greenville facility, Greenville, Mississippi