Ballard Locks May Close if Federal Government Shuts Down

From a local newsw web site:

Seattle's Ballard Locks might get caught up in the federal government shutdown.

The locks are run by the Army Corps of Engineers which is staffed by federal employees. They say they're still waiting to hear from Washington D.C. whether it will impacted by a potential shutdown.

A Seattle boat captain at Fishermen's Terminal said he had no idea that his only path to Puget Sound, and the open ocean, could be impacted.

"It would be a huge impact," he said. "It would really be counter-productive to the whole industry here. Seattle is built on fish."

The Army Corps of Engineers says it will let fishermen know what that the plans are as soon as it finds out.

With most of the boats at the terminal about to head out for salmon season in the next few weeks, the captains are waiting. And if it shuts down, one journeyman fisherman told me, "There'd be a lot of angry fishermen."