What Will WRDA Legislation Bring?
On November 8, speaking at the Port of New Orleans, President Obama said “… corn and wheat is coming down from my home state of Illinois down the river, ending up here and then going all around the world. This was a victory for the inland waterways industry because while the President has recognized ports, dams, levees, trains, trucks and other transportation infrastructure, he has not, heretofore, underscored the value of the inland waterways. The President’s recognition of the…
AAPA Lauds Focus of Senate Transportation Proposal
Senate EPW’s 2-year reauthorization proposal includes much of AAPA’s platform. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) supports a number of the provisions included in legislation marked up today by the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. S.1813—Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century or MAP-21— would fund highway programs at $85.3 billion over two years, contains no project earmarks, adds mechanisms for performance measurements, accelerates project delivery and streamlines the environmental review process.
AAPA Hails Senate Passage of Water Resources Development Act
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) welcomed the U.S. Senate’s approval last evening of the long-pending Water Resources Development Act (S. 728), which addresses a six-year backlog of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers programs, including navigation projects, policies and procedures necessary to keep pace with today’s burgeoning trade. The bill also includes a number of important provisions for the Corps, such as an amendment proposed by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to strike decommissioning language for the Corps dredge McFarland and lift restrictions on two other Corps dredges (the Yaquina and Essayons). “AAPA and our member ports are very pleased that this critical piece of legislation is finally headed to conference, thanks in large measure to Sen.
WRDA Reintroduced
The $2.1 billion Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which failed passage by the House of Representatives last year, was reintroduced in the Senate. In the House, counterpart legislation remains delayed by the continuing controversy over whether to build the Auburn Dam to protect Sacramento from flooding. The Senate passed its version of WRDA 98 last October, but negotiations over House consideration - mainly with dam proponent Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) - failed in the final hours of the session. WRDA bills are usually drafted every two years, and authorize specific projects to be built by the USACE. As introduced, WRDA 99 retains its predecessor's "Challenge 21" program…
