Beardstown, IL – Beardstown Mayor Bob Walters believes some changes in the town's riverfront could help it attract a new business.
He says the town is back in consideration as the possible site of a plant that would process asian carp into a protein supplement.
However, for that to happen, the town would have to have river access so boats could unload carp caught in the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
He says silt has blocked off both the town's marina and its riverfront. However, the new Water Resources Development Act guarantees river access to the town.
His preference would be for the Corps of Engineers to move the mouth of the Sangamon River farther upstream from the town.
He says this would put the river's silt load in the main channel of the Illinois instead of building up along the Beardstown shoreline.