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Hurricanes spark new WRDA considerations at roundtable

 

MIAMI, Fla. — Terminal B at PortMiami is far removed from the fields of the Corn Belt. The busy transportation hub in the center of hurricane country provided a fitting location, however, for an important Congressional roundtable kicking off discussions for the 2018 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

While inland waterways issues such as lock and dam repair and maintenance that are important to Corn Belt farmers were a central part of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment round table, flood control and issues related to the unprecedented 2017 hurricanes that hit Florida, Texas and Louisiana rightfully took center stage in the wide-ranging discussion.

The gathering brought together bipartisan leaders of the subcommittee, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, members of the south Florida Congressional delegation and public and private stakeholders. Among those speaking was Dan Mecklenborg, chief legal officer for the Ingram Barge Group, who appeared on behalf of the American Waterways Operators and Waterways Council.

He noted the inland waterways system is made up of nearly 12,000 miles of commercially active waterways. Commercial operators pay a diesel fuel tax that funds up to half of the cost of new construction and major rehabilitation of waterways infrastructure, principally locks and dams.

In 2014, the barge industry supported a significant raise in the tax to help fund waterways infrastructure projects. “This change has led to significant improvements in the construction time. The Army Corps of Engineers recently reported that Olmsted Dam (a long-shuttered lock and dam on the Ohio River) will be operational in 2018, with full completion expected in 2022, four years ahead of the Corps’ previous estimated completion date,” Mecklenborg said.

He added the cost share change has allowed other Corps lock and dam projects – some of which had been languishing without funding – to proceed. More changes are necessary to continue the momentum begun with the 2014 and 2016 WRDA bills, he said.

“Currently we have a portfolio of 25 high-priority projects either in construction or waiting to begin construction. At the current rate, many of these projects will not even begin construction in the next 20 years,” he told the Congress members, which included Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Reps. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), among many others.

Mecklenborg asked for Congress to consider another cost share change to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which is funded through the barge fuel tax, in the 2018 WRDA.

Investments in waterways infrastructure contribute to U.S. economic success, safety and security, said Amy Larson, president of the National Waterways Conference.

“Jumping to what WRDA 2018 should be, I would suggest the most important component is the authorization of new studies and projects ... that address the particular needs or problems of a local community,” she said. “I would make a plea to appropriators to increase funding and provisions for new starts and new studies.”

In his opening remarks, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee chair, noted that 30 percent of Americans live in proximity to shorelines of the coastal United States. Considering recent weather events, flood control and shoreline protection must be considered a major aspect of this and future WRDAs, he said.

In addition to the human safety element, maritime cargo on the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, which is increasing, must be able to safely navigate ports and other infrastructure.

“Since 1980, we’ve had over 200 disasters that have cost our nation over $1 trillion to respond to. In many instances, if we took some of those dollars and simply invested them (in waterways infrastructure improvements) proactively, we could have saved hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars,” Graves said.

According to Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC), the 2018 WRDA must be appropriately funded, especially when it comes to maintenance and operations, to reduce the potential for lock and dam failures at any number of locations. Steenhoek, who did not attend the roundtable, objects to the haphazard, unreliable funding mechanisms that have handcuffed past WRDA bills by delaying major lock and dam projects when money for Corps-led lock and dam improvements ran out.

“(There are) inefficiencies and cost escalations resulting from the current unpredictable and piecemeal approach to funding the nation’s locks and dams,” he said. “(The STC and member organizations) will be promoting best practices that, if implemented, would increase the likelihood of lock and dam modernization projects being completed on schedule and within budget.

“Over the years, the STC has routinely conveyed the argument ‘how you allocate money is just as important as how much money you allocate.’ Improving our nation’s inventory of locks and dams is not solely a function of increased funding. More efficient allocation of funding is also essential.”

In his opening remarks to the roundtable, Shuster said “the American people have spoken and they want us to improve our aging infrastructure. We need to take action so our infrastructure can meet the demands of our growing trade volume.”

11/8/2017