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Inland Waterways Transportation System News

25 Mar 2024

Demopolis: A Cautionary Tale for Increased Infrastructure Investment

Demopolis Lockā€”which suffered a recent catastrophic failureā€”is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system. (Photo: Chuck Walker / U.S. Army)

Demopolis Lockā€”which suffered a recent catastrophic failureā€”is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system.The nationā€™s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, largely constructed in the 1930s, has seen modernization and rehabilitation across the system, albeit very slowly. Despite those efforts, lock failures continue, and the risk of failure persists.Whileā€¦

07 Nov 2021

Infrastrucure Bill: $2.5B Earmarked for Inland Waterways Construction and Rehab

Ā© EJRodriquez/AdobeStock

By a vote of 228 to 206, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Senate-passed H.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the bi-partisan Infrastructure Package). The bill is headed to the President to be signed into law.For the nationā€™s inland waterways system, a historic $2.5 billion of 100% federal funding is provided for construction and major rehabilitation inland waterways projects. In addition, Capital Investment Strategy (CIS) navigation projects will be given priority.

13 Jan 2021

WRDA 2020 Winds its Way to Passage

Ā© Christopher Boswell / Adobe Stock

In early October, Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reported in its newsletter Capitol Currents that the future of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 hung in the balance, with many unknowns for its chances of being signed into law during the Lame Duck session of Congress that just concluded in late December.But despite twists and turns and a roller coaster ride, WRDA was, indeed, passed by Congress on December 21 as part of the FY21 Omnibus Appropriations that included a $900 billion COVID Relief package.

13 Aug 2020

Interview: Tracy Zea, President & CEO, Waterways Council Inc.

Tracy Zea is the Waterways Council Inc.ā€™s new President & CEO.

We recently checked in with Tracy Zea, Waterways Council Inc.ā€™s new President & CEO, on whatā€™s in store for the U.S. inland waterways for the remainder of 2020.To start, give us some insight on your background and how you came to lead WCI.I was born and raised in Chandler, Ariz., and attended South Dakota State University, receiving a degree in Political Science. After college, I found my way to Washington, D.C. via an internship with Senator Thune (R-S.D.). After the internship, I was hired by the House of Representatives, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

08 Jul 2020

Zea Named WCI President & CEO

Tracy R. Zea (Photo: WCI)

Waterways Council, Inc.ā€™s (WCI) Board of Directors unanimously elected Tracy R. Zea as the organizationā€™s new President and Chief Executive Officer. He will assume the new duties effective today.With a broad range of Capitol Hill, policy development and government relations expertise, Zea most recently served as WCIā€™s Vice President-Government Relations, advocating for WCIā€™s goals for authorizations and appropriations which support a modern, efficient, reliable inland waterways transportation system.

07 May 2020

COVID-19 Economic Recovery Should Include Infrastructure Investment

(Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

As the nation continues to be impacted by COVID-19, there are silver linings to the crisis: family time and togetherness, gratitude for what we had before it was taken away, and a chance to seek opportunities to be better and more productive.As funding bills related to the COVID-19 crisis move forward, there may be an opportunity for the nation to better itself by modernizing its infrastructure.Congress has, to date as of this writing, passed three phases of a coronavirus relief package.

11 Feb 2020

WCI Applauds Corpsā€™ FY20 Work Plan

(Photo: Lee Roberts / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) offered praise for Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersā€™ for the Corpsā€™ Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) work plan that lays out allocations for funds provided in the FY20 Energy & Water Development Appropriations bill toward the Corpsā€™ civil works mission. The work plan was released late yesterday.Critical to the nationā€™s agricultural shippers and American family farmers, the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) (Upper Mississippi River ā€“ Illinois Waterway System: ILā€¦

11 Feb 2020

Trump's FY21 Budget Request 'Inadequate' -WCI

Ā© Warren Price / Adobe Stock

President Trumpā€™s Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget request released on Monday is "astonishingly inadequate" says industry advocate Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI).The FY21 budget provides $0 for construction of ongoing priority navigation projects cost-shared through the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF); cuts funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersā€™ Civil Works Mission by 22% ($5.967 billion, a $1.7 billion decrease from the FY20 enacted level); and proposes $1.8 million in new user fees on commercial waterways operators.Last fiscal year (FY20)ā€¦

15 Oct 2019

OP/ED: Farm Facts

AdobeStock / Ā© Igor Strukov

USDA Study Underscores Value of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture.On August 28, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works R.D. James toured Mel Price Locks and Dam in Alton, Illinois, and held a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the importance of the waterways,  agriculture and the U.S. economy. At the event, Secretary Perdue briefed agricultural and waterways stakeholders on a newly released study ā€“ Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture ā€“ from the U.S.

29 Aug 2019

USDA Releases Powerful Inland Waterways Study

File Image: WCI

WCI/NGFA Urge NESP Infrastructure Project to Move Forward.The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) today commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for releasing a significant new study that quantifies the cost-savings and competitive advantages that would accrue from investing in long-delayed improvements to inland waterways locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River system.The study, entitled, Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S.

20 Mar 2019

INSIGHTS: Peter Stephaich

Peter Stephaich, Chairman & CEO, Campbell Transportation Company

Chairman & CEO, Campbell Transportation Company.Peter H. Stephaich is Chairman and CEO of Blue Danube Incorporated and Campbell Transportation Company. Currently, he is also Chairman of the Board of the Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI). Peter also serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Danube, a position that he has held since 1982. Serving the barge industry for over 30 years in a number of key roles, he also counts among his many qualifications his tenure(s) as Past Chairman and Past Treasurer of the American Waterways Operators (AWO)ā€¦

15 Feb 2019

WCI Honors Senator Duckworth

Photo: WCI

On February 12, 2019, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) received Waterways Council, Inc.'s (WCI) 18th Annual Leadership Service Award for her continual championing of ports and inland waterways. She was presented the award by Wade Beasley, Business Representative, Carpenters Local 174, Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters. WCI President & CEO Mike Toohey said, ā€œSenator Duckworth is an American hero, and a stalwart advocate for the inland waterways in her state of Illinois, and throughout the United States.

10 Oct 2018

AWIA/WRDA Overwhelmingly Passes in Senate

File Image: AdobeStock / Ā© SunnyS

Bill now heads to White House for President Trumpā€™s signature.Today, the Senate voted 99-1 in favor of Americaā€™s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018/Water Resources Development Act, otherwise known as WRDA 2018. The Bill passed in the U.S. House by unanimous voice vote (435-0) in August.ā€œThe passage of WRDA 2018 is a win for the Nationā€™s towboat operators, freight shippers, ports and labor and conservation groups that rely on an efficient inland waterways system,ā€ said Mike Toohey, President and CEO of the Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI).

14 Mar 2018

Op/Ed: Disconnect from River to Washington

Ā© Jeffery Everson / Adobe Stock

Just before the anticipation of good things to come on Valentineā€™s Day, on February 12, the inland waterways transportation industry was left feeling disappointed and puzzled after the release of the long-awaited Trump Administration infrastructure principles, and then the release of President Trumpā€™s FY 2019 budget request. During the Presidential campaign, then-candidate Trump said he would undertake a $1 trillion infrastructure initiative that would focus on a wide array of projects, from sewer systems to bridges to Veterans Hospitals to rural broadband expansion.

08 Jun 2017

WCI Applauds Trump's Cincinnati Visit

Mike Toohey, WCI President/CEO

Waterways Council, Inc. "WCI applauds President Trumpā€™s visit to the heartland and for his speech today that will surely bring heightened attention to the investment needs of the inland waterways system. Our country has not seen this kind of leadership on infrastructure since President Franklin D. Rooseveltā€™s 1930s New Deal to build our locks and dams, or since the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to construct the National Defense and Interstate Highway system. Today, Presidentialā€¦

06 Mar 2017

OP/Ed: New Year, New Opportunity

The start of a new year often brings change, but in the nationā€™s capital, 2017 means a new President and Administration, and a new Congress. Waterways Council, Inc.ā€™s objective remains the same as it has since our start in 2005: to advocate for a modern, efficient and reliable inland waterways transportation system. For WCI, achieving this means working from our ā€œthree-legged advocacy stoolā€ approach to educating these new Washingtonians through direct lobbying, stakeholder support and outreach, and media relations.

10 Dec 2016

WCI Praises Passage of Water Infrastructure Improvement for Nation

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) today commended the work of Congress to pass the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, of which the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA 2016) is included, by a vote of 78 to 21 during the lame duck session. WIIN/WRDA authorizes Army Corps of Engineers' work on locks and dams, dredging and other water resources projects. WCI applauded the efforts of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, led by Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR), along with House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Ranking Member Grace Napolitano (D-CA).

16 May 2016

Ace Targets Inland Waterways

Overhead crane and hoist manufacturer Ace World Companies has made its first appearance at the Inland Marine Expo, which took place for the third time this May at Americaā€™s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The expo is the annual trade show for the inland and intracoastal marine transportation industry, which is a target market for the manufacturer and its recently acquired business, Pullift Corporation, a provider of standard and custom material handling equipment, including winches. Camron Ghanemi, vice president at Ace, said, ā€œI was encouraged by recent comments from Michael Toohey, the president of the Waterways Council, who referenced ā€˜record fundingā€™ to modernize the nationā€™s inland waterways transportation system.

13 May 2016

Senate Approves Strong Funding for USACE

The FY ā€™17 Energy & Water Development (E&WD) and Related Agencies appropriations bill has been approved by the U.S. Senate in a 90-8 vote, significantly increasing funding in Fiscal Year 2017 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersā€™ Civil Works Program. The House version of this bill, which passed out of the Appropriations Committee last month, is awaiting floor action. Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) President Michael J. Toohey underscored the work of Chairman Cochran and Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Senate E&WD Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), as well as Senate Majority Leader McConnell, that was key to the passage of this strong funding bill.

15 Apr 2016

WCI Applauds Increased FY'17 Funding

The Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) praised the bipartisan leadership of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Senate Energy & Water Development (E&WD) Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for the 30-0 vote approving the fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill that increases funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersā€™ Civil Works Program. The Corpsā€™ Civil Works mission funded in the Senate bill is $6 billion, an increase of $11 million above the FY 2016 enacted level, and $1.378 million above the Presidentā€™s budget request. It restores the 23 percent cut to the Corpsā€™ budget proposed by the Administration for FY ā€™17.

07 Apr 2016

Stakeholders Voice Opposition to Proposed Waterway Tolls

Deb Calhoun (Photo: WCI)

A group of 75 companies and organizations have collectively voiced opposition to a Public Private Partnership (P3) project that would seek to toll the Illinois Waterway and that could make its way into the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2016. The group consisting of a variety of stakeholders across the logistics chain and led by the Waterways Council, Inc. ā€œWe are not opposed to appropriate, properly-structured financing to improve the nationā€™s inland waterways transportation system,ā€ the letters said.

23 Sep 2015

Insights: Tracy Zea, Director-Government Relations, WCI

Tracy R. Zea

Washington-based Tracy R. Zea advocates for Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) goals for authorizations and appropriations which support a modern, efficient, and reliable inland waterways transportation system. Zea also works to enhance WCIā€™s stakeholder relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers while additionally tracking implementation of WRRDA legislation and ensuring that WCIā€™s views are reflected in the outcomes. Before joining WCI, Zea served on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) for five years.

16 Jul 2015

WCI Names Zea as Director

Tracy Zea (Photo: WCI)

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) has named Tracy R. Zea as its Director-Government Relations, effective August 4. He will be based in the Washington, D.C. office and will primarily advocate for WCIā€™s goals for authorizations and appropriations which support a modern, efficient, and reliable inland waterways transportation system. Zea will also work to enhance WCIā€™s stakeholder relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He will also be responsible for tracking implementation of WRRDA legislation and ensuring that WCIā€™s views are reflected in the outcomes.