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Michael Toohey News

06 Mar 2017

OP/Ed: New Year, New Opportunity

The start of a new year often brings change, but in the nation’s capital, 2017 means a new President and Administration, and a new Congress. Waterways Council, Inc.’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 “three-legged advocacy stool” 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 America’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, “I was encouraged by recent comments from Michael Toohey, the president of the Waterways Council, who referenced ‘record funding’ to modernize the nation’s inland waterways transportation system.

20 Oct 2014

Missouri River Basin is Booming

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Missouri River Basin Water Management Division is maintaining above normal releases at the four lower dams on the Missouri River. The excess water will allow the Corps to extend the navigation season and provide higher winter releases. Navigation service to the mouth of the Missouri River will now be extended until December 10. Conditions in the basin affected by tributary inflow could extend the season for days after that. Increases in shipping along the Missouri River are being seen north toward Sioux City for the first time in 11 years. The Siouxland Chamber of Commerce suggested that increased shipping on the Missouri River and all the way to the gulf, complements the air, rail and road infrastructure Sioux City prides itself on.

28 Aug 2014

US Rail Jams Force Rush to Roads and Rivers

Photo: Susannah Skiver

U.S. coal-burning power utilities are being forced to turn to barges and more expensive trucks to move coal, desperate to shore up stockpiles left dangerously low by the widespread bottlenecks on rail networks. The shift in how coal is being delivered to some power plants from mining regions such as Illinois Basin and comes amid persistent railroad delays that began during last year's severe North American winter. The delays have been perpetuated also by a surge in rail deliveries of crude oil and grain…

10 Jun 2014

Civil Works Funding of U.S. Army Corps lauded

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) today praised the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy & Water Subcommittee approval, by unanimous voice vote, the FY ’15 appropriations bill that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program. Fiscal year 2015 funding for the Corps’ Civil Works mission is $5.493 billion, an increase of $25 million above the FY ’14 enacted level and nearly $1 billion ($959.5 million) above the President's budget request. *Navigation projects (undesignated) will receive an increase of $484 million above the Administration’s request. *Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) supported projects received an increase of $112 million or a total of $281 million for priority projects in FY ’15.

13 Sep 2013

WCI, AWO Welcome Process to Reauthorize WRDA

The Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and The American Waterways Operators (AWO) expressed their support of the bipartisan process to move a long overdue Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). House efforts, led by House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), along with Ranking Member Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), as well as Water Resources and Environment Committee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Ranking Member Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), culminated in this week’s introduction of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA). WCI and AWO are urging the inclusion of provisions in H.R. 1149, the WAVE 4 Act…

16 May 2013

WCI Applauds Senate for WRDA Bill

In a news press release yesterday, Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) expressed its gratitude to Senate Environment & Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA) for their collaborative efforts to draft, manage and pass a long-overdue Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), S. 601. WCI said it was also grateful for the inclusion of several provisions of the RIVER (Reinvesting In Vital Economic Rivers and Waterways) Act, S. 407, introduced by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), and cosponsored by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS).

08 Jan 2013

AWO, WCI: 9' Drafts Must be Maintained in Mississippi

Michael Toohey, WCI President & CEO.

Waterways Operators Commend Administration, Senator Durbin, Corps of Engineers; Stress Need for Continued Assurance of 9-Foot Navigation Channel on Mississippi River. The American Waterways Operators (AWO) and Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reacted today to recent statements from Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which indicate that the Mississippi River will be able to sustain navigation through the end of January for towboats and barges at a 9-foot draft, as rock pinnacle removal work at Thebes, Illinois, has gone better than expected.

23 Feb 2012

Jobs Available Here!

Michael Toohey, President & CEO, WCI, Inc.

The tragic near-sinking of the Costa Concordia in Italy has the world’s attention riveted on the safety of cruising, the condition of cruise ships, and the training and experience of cruise captains. That’s just the way things work: tragedy focuses attention and perhaps reform. We saw the same thing happen in Minneapolis in 2008 when the I-35 bridge collapsed and lives were lost. Bridge safety became a priority in Washington, DC and for the nation. And the Federal government provided the funding on an immediate basis to rebuild the bridge!

27 Oct 2011

NWF Elects New Officers

Michael Hennessey Named Chairman. Michael W. Hennessey, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Brownsville Marine Products, was elected Chairman. He succeeds Craig E. Philip, President and CEO, Ingram Barge Company, who remains on the Foundation as Immediate Past-Chairman. Michael Toohey, President and CEO, Waterways Council, Inc., was named Secretary. Joseph H. Pyne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kirby Corporation, was re-elected as Treasurer of the Foundation. “I look forward to working with our esteemed officers and trustees this year, as the Foundation considers undertaking a number of industry studies and activities that will better allow the waterways industry to tell its story through facts and data,” said Chairman Hennessey.

21 Sep 2011

WCI's Michael Toohey Testifies Before House Subcommittee

Michael J. Toohey, WCI President & CEO

WCI President testified before House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee on substantial economic importance of inland waterways system navigation projects, once completed, will provide jobs and billions of dollars for american economy. Michael J. Toohey, President and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), testified today before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on “The Economic Importance and Financing Challenges of Recapitalizing the Nation’s Inland Waterways Transportation System.”  Mr.

25 Oct 2006

Waterways Council, Inc. Names New Officers and Directors

At its Annual Meeting held October 18 in Nashville, the Board of Directors of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) elected the following officers and Executive Committee members for 2006-2007: Mark Knoy, President, AEP MEMCO LLC, Chairman; R. Barry Palmer, WCI, President and CEO; Dan Mecklenborg, Senior Vice President, HR & Chief Legal Officer, Ingram Barge Company, First Vice Chairman and General Counsel; Kevin Sparks, Manager, Petrochemicals Marketing, Marathon Petroleum Co., LLC, Secretary/Treasurer; Peter Lilly, Chief Operating Officer-Coal, CONSOL Energy Inc., and Rick Calhoun, President, Cargo Carriers, Vice-Chairmen. Peter Stephaich, Chairman, Campbell Transportation Co; H.