Brinson Elected Chairman of National Waterways Conference
J. Ron Brinson, former port director and now special projects coordinator of the Port of New Orleans, was elected chairman of the National Waterways Conference, Inc., at the organization?s annual meeting. Brinson succeeds Craig E. Philip of Nashville, president and chief executive officer of Ingram Barge Co., who had served as chairman for the last two years. Brinson, who served as president and chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans from 1986, now heads the millennium port and other special projects. He previously served seven years as president of the American Association of Port Authorities. He also worked for the South Carolina State Ports Authority and as a reporter and later associate editor of The Charleston News and Courier.
Harbor Services Fund Under Attack
The Administration's proposed tax to pay for harbor dredging is not a viable or equitable solution to funding navigation channel maintenance at the nation's ports, says the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). AAPA and others testified at a House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Hearing on the Administration's Harbor Services Fund (HSF) proposal, H. R. 1947. The plan creates a new tax on vessels to replace the Harbor Maintenance Tax, the export-tax portion of which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. The administration proposal, submitted to Congress, but not yet introduced as a bill, would…
NWF Elects New Officers, Trustees
The National Waterways Foundation elected new officers and trustees at its recent meeting on October 3, 2007 in Houston, TX. Newly elected Foundation officers are Peter Stephaich, Chairman, Campbell Transportation Co., Chairman, succeeding Joe Pyne, President/CEO, Kirby Corporation, and Terry Becker, President, Riverway Co., Treasurer. R. Barry Palmer, WCI, President and CEO, was re-elected as Secretary. Re-elected as Foundation trustees were Craig E. Philip, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ingram Barge Company; H. Merritt Lane, III, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canal Barge Company; Howard H. Brent, Peter Stephaich and R. Barry Palmer.
NWC to Meet in New Orleans
The National Waterways Conference will hold its annual meeting in New Orleans at the Hilton Riverside Hotel on September 4-6 where some 350 business, civic and waterways leaders are expected to attend. Donald T. (Boysie) Bollinger, chairman and chief executive officer of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., and Richard R. Calhoun, vice president of Cargill, Inc., and chairman of the National Grain and Feed Assn., will be the main speakers at the event. According to conference chairman, J. Ron Brinson of the Port of New Orleans, Bollinger of Lockport La., will address the opening luncheon. Bollinger Shipyards, one of the nation's largest builders of boats and barges, operates 20 shipyards from Mississippi to Texas. Calhoun, of Minneapolis, will speak at the closing luncheon.
FY 01 Civil Works Budget Proposes $4.06B Program
President Clinton's budget transmitted to Congress includes $4.06 billion for the USACE Civil Works program. In addition, the program will include $322 million in non-federal contributions and trust fund receipts. Funding in this request will be used to continue the development of the nation's water resources, the efficient operations, maintenance and management of the nation's navigation, flood damage reduction, and multiple-purpose projects, the equitable regulation of wetlands, and the restoration of important environmental resources such as the South Florida Ecosystem. The budget also begins to address some of the Corp's long-term water resources infrastructure main-tenance requirements.
Civil Works Budget Awakens Critics Again
President Clinton's budget transmitted to Congress includes $4.06 billion for the USACE Civil Works program. In addition the program will include $322 million in non-federal contributions and trust fund receipts. Funding in this request will be used to continue the development of the nation's water resources, the efficient operations, maintenance and management of the nation's navigation, flood damage reduction, and multiple-purpose projects, the equitable regulation of wetlands, and the restoration of important environmental resources such as the South Florida Ecosystem. The budget also begins to address some of the Corps long-term water resources infrastructure main-tenance requirements.
Organizations Shoot Down Budget with HSF
The Administration's FY 01 budget request for the USACE' Civil Works program calls for nearly $1 billion in new taxes on the maritime industry to fund a Harbor Services Fund (HSF). The Administration has proposed a replacement for the Harbor Maintenance Tax, which the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in March 1998, with a new tax on commercial vessels that use federal navigation channels in U.S. harbors. A variety of maritime organizations reacted strongly to inclusion of the HSF, for the second year in a row, in the Administration's budget proposal. The HSF is included in FY 01 budget request of $4.06 billion. It compares to $4.15 billion in FY 00 appropriated levels.
